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Large-Scale Land Acquisition and its Implications for Women’s Land Rights in Cameroon
Lotsmart Fonjong Irene Sama-Lang Lawrence Fombe
Christiana Abonge
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and its ights in Cameroon
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First published by the International Development Research Centre in 2017
Designed and printed in Cameroon byBUKHUM Communications,
This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada.
First published by the International Development Research Centre in 2017
Copyright IDRC/CRDI
All rights reserved
Designed and printed in Cameroon by BUKHUM Communications,
Limbe
International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada.
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Acknowledgements
Several persons made this research possible. I am sincerely grateful to
them for their assistance, contributions, insights and comments. They
are too many to be acknowledged individually. I am therefore
acknowledging them here collectively. I will however like to single out a
few persons and groups for special mention.
As a team, we are indebted to the Canadian-based International
Development Centre, IDRC, for providing all the research funds, under
grant No. 107590-01 and the University of Buea, the host institution,
for its hospitality.
I am grateful to all the administrative and traditional authorities of
Mungo, Ndian and Kupe Manenguba Divisions for their kind
collaboration and for facilitating our access to their respective localities.
Special thanks go to the IDRC Nairobi Office team for facilitating the
project, especially Ms Ramata Thioune, Senior Project Officer, for her
invaluable technical and scientific contributions throughout the project.
I am grateful to Professor Joyce Endeley for her critical comments on
the initial draft and to Professor Enoh Tanjong for his assistance in the
training of the team of research assistants. I am equally thankful to
Dona Consultancy and especially its CEO Professor George Nyamndi for
editing the work in its successive stages and for translating the
executive summary into French. In the same vein, I express thanks to
Dr. Che Tita of Bukhum Communications for the layout and printing.
Finally, many thanks to my colleagues Drs. Irene Sama-Lang, Lawrence
Fombe, Christiana Abonge, and Justice Vera Ngassa for making sure
that we meet the objective of the project. I equally thank the team of
research assistants, particularly Ms Violet Fokum, Hannah Kame and
Regina Zama for their praise-worthy collaboration throughout the
project.
Lotsmart Fonjong, Principal Investigator. Buea, November 2016
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Contents Acknowledgements iii
List of Abbreviations viii
List of Tables ix
List of Figures ix
List of Maps ix
Executive summary 1
Résumé 9
Chapter 1 17
General introduction 17
1.1. The research problem 19
Chapter 2 23
Methodology 23
2.1. Population studied and sampling 27
2.2. Research instruments 29
2.3. Data collection procedure 30
2.4. Data analysis 31
2.5. Ethical considerations 33
Chapter 3 34
Context and Framing of the study 34
3.1. Women, agriculture and LSLAs 34
3.2. Theoretical frameworks 36
3.2.1. The concept of accountability 37
3.2.2. The Concept of participation 38
Chapter 4 43
Historical context of land governance and large-scale
land acquisitions in Cameroon 43
4.1. Historical Evolution of Land Tenure Laws and Early
Signs of LSLA 44
4.1.2. Colonial rule and early signs of large-scale
land acquisitions 45
4.1.3. Post-colonial period 48
4.2. The evolution of women’s land rights in Cameroon 50
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4.3. Women, landownership and LSLAs in Cameroon 52
4.3.1. Women, LSLAs and plantation agriculture in Cameroon 53
Chapter 5 57
Trends and Dynamics in Large-scale Land Acquisition in
Cameroon 57
5.1. An overview of the trends and dynamics 57
5.2. Scale of large-scale land deals 63
Chapter 6 66
Processes, Mechanisms and Women in Large-scale Land
Acquisitions 66
6.1. Formal processes and mechanisms 66
6.1.1. Short and long term leases 67
6.1.2. Land concessions 67
6.1.3. Allocations of state lands 68
6.1.4. Allotment as contribution to the capital of the companies 69
6.1.5. Assignment to public bodies 69
6.1.6. Land purchase 69
6.1.7. Statutory companies 70
6.1.8. Acquisitions through privatization 70
6.1.9. Acquisitions through expropriation 71
6.1.10. Contract farming scheme 71
6.2. Informal processes of large-scale land acquisition 72
6.2.1. Negotiation of memorandum of understandings (MoUs) 73
6.3. Exclusion of women from the process of LSLAs 75
6.4. The question of the level of transparency in the land deals 78
Chapter 7 83
Actors of Large-scale Land Acquisitions 83
7.1. Investors 84
7.1.2. The size of land requested 85
7.2. The government 85
7.2.1. Land expropriation for security reasons 86
7.2.2. promotion of agricultural and rural development 87
7.2.3. As a source of government revenue 87
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7.2.4. Promotion of infrastructural development and the fight
against poverty 88
7.3. The role of chiefs 90
7.3.1. Chief, accountability and legitimacy in LSLAs 92
7.3.2. Chiefs and the question of women’s land rights in the
process of LSLAs 94
7.4. The role of the elites 96
Chapter 8 98
Socio-Economic Effects of LSLAs on Women 98
8.1 Positive impact of LSLAs on women 98
8.1.1. Creation of rural employments 99
8.1.2. Provision of social amenities to affected communities 100
8.1.3. Provision of farming land to landless women 102
8.2. Negative Effects of LSLAs on women’s livelihood 104
8.2.1. Loss of livelihood 104
8.2.2. Over-dependence on rented land 105
8.2.3. Drop in economic power 106
8.2.4. Scarcity of fuel wood 106
8.2.5. Water crisis and pollution 108
8.2.6. Exclusion of women from the process of LSLAs 111
8.2.7. Inadequate compensation for crops and land 114
8.2.8. Failed promises and discrimination in employments 115
8.2.9. Unrealistic employments and poor working condition 117
8.2.10. Insecurity 120
Chapter 9 121
Community Response to Large-scale Land Acquisitions 121
9.1.1. Protests, strikes and petitions 121
9.1.2. General letters of petition and complaints 123
9.1.3. Meetings and Declarations against LSLAs 126
9.1.4. Effect of community resistance 129
9.2. The role of NGOs 130
9.2.1. LSLAs and the question of environmental and
biodiversity protection 130
9.2.2. Demanding accountability and due process 133
9.2.3. Legal suits 135
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9.2.4. Reprisal on NGOs 136
Chapter 10 139
Emerging Issues from LSLAs for Policy 139
10.1. Women, LSLAs and compensation 139
10.2. LSLAs and women empowerment 140
10.3. Representation and accountability 141
10.4. Women’s general attitude towards their neglect in the
process of LSLAs 142
10.5 Women, LSLAs and environmental protection 143
10.6 The effects of the loss of the common 144
10.7 Women LSLA and food security 144
10.8 Gender mainstreaming in LSLAs 146
Chapter 11 148
The Way Forward 148
11.1. Conclusion 148
11.2. Recommendations 150
Bibliography 153
Appendixes 160
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List of Abbreviations
CDC Cameroon Development Corporation
COGES Comité de Gestion Environnementale et Sociale
DO Divisional Officer
ESIA Environmental Social-Economic Impact Assessment
LCB Land Consultative Board
LSLA Large Scale Land Acquisition
MINEPAT Ministry of Economy, Planning and Territorial
Development
MOUs Memorandum of Understanding
NGOs Non- Governmental Organisations
NTFPs Non-Timber Forest Products
OCB Organisation Camerounaise Banane
PAMOL Plantation Pamol du Cameroun
PHP Plantation de Haut Penja
PM Prime Minister
PRECASEM Project to Strengthen Mining Sector Capacity
RRI Rights and Resources Initiative
RSPO Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oils
SBM Société des Bananes du Mungo
SDO Senior Divisional Officer
SEFE Struggle to Economise Future Generation
SG-SOC Sithe Global Sustainable Oil Cameroon
SG-SOC PAV SG-SOC Project for Affected Villages
SOCAPALM Société Camerounaise de Palmeraies
SODECOTTON Société de Développement du Coton
SOSUCAM Société Sucrière du Cameroun
SPNP Société des Plantations de Njombé Penja
UNVDA Upper Noun Valley Development Authority
WADA Wum Area Development Authority
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List of Tables Table 1: Companies and localities considered in the Study Table 2: Summary situation of interviewees Table 3: Framework for understanding Women’ participation in LSLAs Table 4: The profile of some land deals in Cameroon Table 5: Knowledge of traditional rulers on the situation of land and LSLAs in
their villages Table 6: Marginalization of women in the process of LSLAs in the studied
localities in the South West Region Table 7: The gender dimensions of compensation on LSLAs in the study areas Table 9: Examples of some failed promises made by investors across studied
localities Table 10: Summary of resistance against LSLAs in Ndian and Kupe Manenguba
Divisions Table 11: Reasons for failures of women’s resistance against LSLAs Table 12: Female respondents’ evaluation of the terms of transactions in LSLAs
of new LSLAs List of Figures Fig. 1: Respondents’ estimation of main factors involved in LSLAs Fig. 2: Why government authorities promote LSLAs in their respective Divisions Fig. 3: Respondents’ perceptions of the positive effects of LSLAs on women and
affected communities Fig. 4: Women employed as unskilled laborers in one of the plantation farms of
agro-companies Fig. 5: Respondents’ views of the negative effects of LSLAs on women in their
communities Fig. 6: Women travel long distances across plantations in search of fuel wood in
Fabe, Ndian Fig. 7: Spring that provided water to inhabitants in a village in Ndian at the
verge of disappearance because of intense plantation activities
List of Maps Map 1: Administrative regions of Cameroon Map 2: Location of the two regions of the study Map 3: Spatial distribution of large-scale mining and plantation agriculture
zones in Cameroon. Map 4: Competition for land and plantation agriculture in the Mungo Division Map 5: Existing land use showing protected forest reserves prior to the approval
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Executive Summary
Recent global financial and food crises together with the drive for cleaner energy created new dynamics of land rush associated with large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) on the continent (OXFAM, 2011; Polack, et al. 2012). The lack of proper mechanisms defining the land rights of women and other vulnerable groups particularly in sub-Saharan Africa creates situations in which communities are unable to negotiate and protect local interests, livelihoods and welfare (Obbo, 2012) in land deals. Land is the life wire for Cameroonian rural women. However, because their land rights are generally not protected either by statutes or by customs, LSLAs could have broad effects on them especially if they are not mainstreamed into the process. This study thus examines how and under what conditions women can be empowered to effectively engage with processes of LSLAs to ensure that the legal and policy frameworks foster better accountability and legitimacy in land governance.
The study sought to achieve the following specific objectives: 1) explore
the formal and informal rules and mechanisms employed by actors
involved in LSLAs and interrogate the extent to which policy frameworks
promote accountability and legitimacy in land governance in Cameroon,
2) generate gender-sensitive, evidence-based knowledge that can be
used by women, communities, non-state, and public actors to enhance
women’s rights, accountability and legitimacy in LSLA processes in
Cameroon, and 3) propose gender-inclusive strategies for formal and
informal institutions that will respect, promote and protect women’s
rights in LSLA processes.
Three purposefully selected divisions (Ndian and Kupe Manengouba in
the South West and Mungo in the Littoral Regions) with a rich history of
plantation agriculture and LSLAs were considered for the study. A
number of agro-companies operate in these localities, among which the
following were chosen: Sithe Global Sustainable Oil Cameroon [SG-SOC]
operating in Ndian and Kupe Manenguba, PAMOL in Ndian, Société des
Plantations du Haut Penja (PHP) and Cameroon Development
Corporation (CDC) in Mungo. Different sets of interview guides were
prepared and administered to 1) public and elected officials, 2) Chiefs,
3) women and local communities, 4) investors, and 5) NGOs during data
2 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
collection. Each of these groups play a distinct role in the process of
LSLAs. Although each interview guide was specific to a group, they
complemented each other, addressing issues relating to land tenure,
consultation, accountability, gender representation, compensation, and
community response to LSLAs. The interviews were conducted between
2014 and 2016 by a team of 4 researchers and 12 research assistants
in French and English depending on the preferred language of the
respondent. Data and field reports collected have been analyzed
thematically and reported qualitatively.
Land in Cameroon is governed by three Ordinances passed in 1974,
followed by three subsequent decrees in 1976. These Ordinances
converted all lands except state and private titled lands into national
land as per Sections 14 and 15 of Ordinance No 74-1 of 6th July 1974.
Section 1(1) of Decree No. 76/165/76 makes the land certificate the
only evidence of ownership. The 1974 and 1976 land reforms have had
little impact on land ownership in the country as less than 20% of land
is titled. Consequently, most lands today that are untitled are national
land held under customary tenancy without security. Ironically,
customary communities though without land titles continue to claim
ownership of national land on the basis of customary ties and
acquisition through first settlement or conquest. This legal illiteracy of
the communities in landownership makes them vulnerable to some
unscrupulous investors who with the complicity of some elites have
acquired and taken control of what was hitherto considered communal
land. In terms of management, national land is jointly governed by the
state and customary communities through the Land Consultative Board
(LCB). The board is chaired by the local administrative officer and
customary communities are represented by the chief and his two
notables. The LCB demonstrates a significant shift of the value of land
from a deity to a commodity, and the control over land from
communities to administrative authorities, some of whom have
undermined community interest for their selfish economic interests.
Some investors have exploited the weaknesses including the naivety of
some local communities, to acquire land with the complicity of some
state officials, elites, and local chiefs.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3
Large-scale land acquisitions in Cameroon take place in the three
different types of land (private, State, and national land). In principle,
investors have applied formal, informal or both processes to acquire
land. Formal processes include acquisition through land lease,
government tender or purchase. Informal acquisitions involve
negotiations with community leaders and the signing of Memorandums
of Understanding (MoUs). Sithe Global Sustainable Oil Cameroon (SG-
SOC) and PAMOL plc have acquired thousands of hectares of land in
Ndian and Kupe Manenguba Divisions through temporal and long term
leases granted by Presidential Decrees on the recommendation of the
LCB. Plantation de Haut Penja (PHP) bought over State owned OCB
(Organisation Camerounaise Banane) by government tender in Mungo
Division via the Site Board Commission (SBC). PHP, SG-SOC and other
agro-investors and mining companies have also purchased through
private contracts additional land from private individuals with land titles.
Field evidence suggests that most of the land has been acquired on
national land without due process. The processes are non-transparent
and neglect the free prior informed consent of customary communities
who (although without security of tenure) depend solely on the land for
livelihood, pushing these communities therefore to resist some of the
deals. To appease and get affected communities on board, investors
and government (as the case may be) enter into informal negotiations
with chiefs, elites and community leaders whose land has been taken,
and in the process entice these communities to cede their land by
signing very vague and sometimes elusive MoUs that do not compel the
investors to carry out any concrete development beneficial to the
affected communities. The MoUs often contain white elephant projects
or empty promises to provide roads, electricity, potable water, schools,
hospitals, etc., without clear dates for their realization. Many
communities refused to sign such MoUs for lack of faith in them. A few
elites and/or chiefs who signed MoUs committing their villages did so
for selfish interests, without prior consultation of the population. Some
of the MoUs are negotiated through coercion, intimidation or outright
bribery of local chiefs and elites. In the end, community interests,
particularly those of women whose livelihoods rest solely on the land
and landed resources, are neglected partly because women are
4 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
excluded from the process. This has sparked up legal suits, protests,
petitions, and other forms of resistance against LSLAs from disgruntled
villagers mostly in Ndian and Kupe Manenguba in the South West
Region of Cameroon.
The process leading to granting land to investors in Cameroon
undermines the participation of women in that the society is patriarchal
and the actors and institutions involved (SBC and LCB) are not
gendered. In the communities studied, negotiations on land deals
involve different actors including the investors, the state (Mayors,
District Officers, and Senior Divisional Officers), and some sections of
the community represented by chiefs, male elites and youths. Investors
and frontline actors are generally not minded to include the voices and
interests of women in the final outcome of land deals. Where women
have been involved in informative meetings, their participation has
been passive. The poor participation of women in the process has been
aided by factors like customary beliefs and the land tenure system
which often discriminate against them. Given existing power relations,
women are traditionally not part of decision-making and negotiation
processes regarding how resources, especially land, are shared and
owned. This places them at a disadvantaged position compared to men
in land matters. It is in this light that one interviewed official of the
Divisional Delegation of Land Tenure in Mungo did not only confirm the
discrimination of women but also saw nothing wrong with it. He averred
that “I have never seen where women are consulted or intervene in land
matters. Personally, I think that women should not be part of these
deals.” But where women are consulted as reported in Fabe, the
opportunity is hijacked by a few elitist women who do not represent
poor women, or by men. As one female respondent complained, “…we
speak and are always consulted but we are often betrayed by men.”
LSLAs have ramifications on crop producers, particularly rural women
who depend solely on food crop cultivation for their livelihood. Although
some local state officials, chiefs and elites claim that there were no
population displacements, field evidence points to the fact that farmers,
hunters, gatherers, fishermen and others were displaced from their
livelihood activities. In terms of direct compensation, very little is done
to promote, protect and respect the land rights of women as those who
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5
farm the land, harvest non-timber forest products, firewood, and use
water from the concession area. Where compensations exist, as in
Njombe, they are paid only to men and at times to widows. Where job
opportunities are created, they are mostly taken up by skilled migrants.
Low wages and job instability for unskilled laborers cannot compensate
for livelihood loss and high cost of food and living in these localities
resulting from the influx of migrants as in Penja and Njombe. Individual
compensation is not commensurate to the land lost as those on the
land were supposed to depend on it for the rest of their lives. Even
promises made by investors to provide social amenities to enhance the
lives of affected communities are rarely realized. However, some
investors like PHP and CDC have provided a few community schools,
health units, and maintained roads in Mungo although their primary
target is their workers.
In most rural communities in Cameroon, women provide for household
subsistence and survival through their role in and contribution to food
security as small holder-agricultural producers and subsistence
farmers. The study illustrates that small holders, particularly women,
are increasingly losing farmland, and so questions the social
development impact of LSLAs in terms of better living standards and
reduction of poverty. Women’s triple roles are directly linked to landed
resources. Displacement from land in Ndian, Mungo and Kupe deprives
women of sources for collecting water, fuel, fruits and medicinal plants
needed to support their families. In some communities in Mungo and
Ndian, land scarcity resulting from expansion in agro-plantations has
led to rural-urban migration among youths in search of alternative
livelihoods. As men migrate, women become temporary heads of
household, increasing their workload and stress as they assume tasks
such as clearing and hunting, hitherto carried out by men.
The socio-economic changes brought about by LSLAs that have not
radically improved the lives of rural dwellers have made Cameroon one
of the countries where LSLA investments have registered a high rate of
resistance and scandals. New plantation ventures from SOCAPALM and
SG-SOC for example have attracted lots of social and environmental
criticism. SG-SOC initially, through a Convention with the Ministry of
6 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Economy, Planning and Territorial Development obtained 73,086
hectares of forest and farmland, home to about 14,000 people, mostly
small farmers. The said land is also within five important protected
areas, including the Korup National Park. A good deal of opposition and
apprehension to this has been led by youths in affected areas, national
and foreign NGOs who are all worried about the legality and
environmental and social merits of the investment. Investors’ activities
are sometimes carried out without consultation or the involvement of
women, and often in disregard of local complaints, local laws,
environmental norms and adequate compensation of the population.
Arrogance from some investors has prompted local populations and
NGOs such as the Struggle to Economise Future Environment (SEFE),
Nature Cameroon, Green Peace and others to ask the hard question as
to why investors neglect due process and community and population
concerns in the acquisition of land. These questions appear in the
different forms of resistance mounted by the women, youths and
communities against LSLAs. Even though women may not necessarily
be the ones leading the anti-LSLAs strikes, demonstrations, meetings,
petitions, and legal suits recorded, their participation in them has far-
reaching impact on the outcome. The community-led resistances that
include women have scored some positive results. For example, it led 1)
government to reduce the quantities of land (from 73,086 hectares to
19,843 hectares) and duration from long-term to three years granted to
one of the investors, 2) some women whose farms were destroyed or
taken over by agro-companies have to be re-evaluated and better
compensated, 3) some of the land that was about to be taken has been
rescued by court orders, 4) some level of consultation has been
instituted for new land acquisitions and expansions, among others.
Some of these achievements have however not been sustained
because of the absence of a strong women’s movement or women’s
agency, and the lack of a common purpose by all segments of affected
communities.
The study has brought to the fore important gender and development
issues for policy reflections. It:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7
1. Highlights the unequal power relations between women and
men, and government and investors in LSLAs;
2. Indicates that patriarchy excludes most women from land
matters and silences them in LSLA negotiations even when they
are invited. Unfortunately, the belief that men (husband, father,
or other male relatives) will protect women’s rights is not always
true.
3. Highlights the fact that in the face of hostile male/governement
hegemonic dominance, few actions of women proved effective.
In fact, there is little evidence of the successes of women’s
actions in the area that motivate women to act or advocate for
their rights.
The above emerging gender issues have broader policy implications on
representation and legitimacy of LSLAs, food security, women and
environmental justice and the need to mainstream gender in the entire
process. These issues arise from the conclusion that both formal and
informal processes of LSLAs in Cameroon neglect women in general
although rural women are the principal victims of LSLAs in affected
areas. They have lost not only access to farm land, water, fuel wood, but
also the exploitation of non-timber forest products (NFTPs) which has
been an important source of income for generations. Women, (in Mungo
for example) walk long distances to search for alternative farms for
survival. Although some off-farm employments have been created by
the companies, these jobs are not only few and temporal but wages
they generate are too little to sustain their families. In fact, non-respect
of women’s rights, environmental justice, and development promises by
investors and government have provided fertile ground for the current
wave of protests and resistance from affected population and NGOs.
The solution to the challenges identified by the study is not to send
away plantation companies because LSLAs have development
potentials in poor countries if well implemented. To make the process a
win-win in Cameroon, laws should provide for the direct inclusion of
women as statutory members in institutions (LCB, SBC, traditional
council, etc.) managing land in Cameroon. Although women’s
participation will not automatically change their fortune, their voices are
8 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
nonetheless critical in negotiating the choices of compensation and
alternative livelihood strategy to land. The State should insist on due
process which allows for real consultation to obtain local consent and
only endorse land deals that promote women’s empowerment, food
security, social inclusion and environmental protection. There should be
land use planning in rural areas to enable farmland for women to be set
aside before selling land to plantation companies. Communities and
women who depend solely on land should equally enjoy regular benefits
for as long as the plantation is on their land. While there should be a
law requesting companies to provide rural women with prior job-related
training so that they can benefit from jobs created by large-scale
investment, the state should ban MoUs between chiefs and investors as
these have no legal standing.
Résumé
Les crises financière et nutritionnelle récentes dans le monde, ajoutées
à la course effrénée pour l’énergie propre ont entraîné une nouvelle
dynamique d’accaparement des terres sur le continent (OXFAM, 2011;
Polack, et al. 2012). L’absence en Afrique sub-saharienne de
mécanismes appropriés en matière de droits des femmes et autres
catégories vulnérables à la terre fait que des communautés entières
n’arrivent pas à engranger, encore moins à protéger des avantages, des
moyens de subsistance et le bien être (Obbo, 2012) dans les
transactions foncières._ La terre constitue pour la femme rurale
camerounaise la principale source de vie. Toutefois, étant donné que
leurs droits fonciers ne sont généralement pas garantis ni par les
statuts ni par les coutumes, l’acquisition à grande échelle des terres
peut avoir des conséquences fâcheuses pour elles, surtout si elles ne
prennent pas une part active dans les transactions. Ce travail se
penche sur les voies et moyens pouvant permettre aux femmes de
s’assurer que les cadres juridiques et politiques en matière de
gouvernance foncière privilégient plus de légitimité et de responsabilité.
Le travail vise les objectifs suivants: 1) examiner les règles et
mécanismes formels et informels utilisés par les acteurs dans
l’acquisition des terres à grande échelle, à la lumière des exigences en
termes de responsabilité et de légitimité, 2) générer des connaissances
tirées des réalités et soucieuses des intérêts de la gente féminine et
pouvant être utilisées par les différents acteurs, femmes,
communautés et autres, pour une meilleure prise en compte des
intérêts des femmes, de la responsabilité et de la légitimité en matière
d’acquisition des terres à grande échelle au Cameroun, 3) proposer des
stratégies inclusives à l’adresse des institutions formelles et informelles
pour le respect, la promotion et la protection des droits des femmes en
matière d’acquisition des terres à grande échelle.
Trois départements pilotes ont été choisis; à savoir, le Ndian et le Kupé
Manengouba dans la Région du Sud-Ouest, et le Moungo dans le
Littoral, et ceci pour leur tradition agraire et domaniale. Un certain
nombre de sociétés agraires opèrent dans ces départements, telles le
Sithe Global Sustainable Oil Cameroon [SG-SOC dans le Ndian et le
10 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Kupé Manengouba, la PAMOL dans le Ndian, la Société des Plantations
du Haut Penja (PHP) et la Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC)
dans le Moungo, le Sithe Global Sustainable Oil Cameroon [SG-SOC]
dans le Ndian et le Kupe Manengouba, la PAMOL dans le Ndian, la
Société des Plantations du Haut Penja (PHP) et la Cameroon
Development Corporation (CDC) dans le Moungo, toutes retenues dans
le cadre de la présente étude. Différents guides d’entretiens furent
élaborés et administrés lors de la collecte des données ainsi qu’il suit:
1) les officiels nommés et élus, 2) les chefs traditionnels, 3) les femmes
et les communautés locales, 4) les investisseurs, et 5) les ONG. Chacun
de ces groupes joue un rôle spécifique dans les transactions
domaniales. Les guides d’entretiens étaient ciblés en fonction de
chaque groupe, mais se complétaient et abordaient des sujets tels le
régime foncier, les consultations, la responsabilité, la représentativité
féminine, la compensation et la réaction communautaire aux
transactions foncières. Les entretiens furent menés entre 2014 et
2016 par une équipe de 4 chercheurs et 12 chercheurs assistants en
anglais et en français selon le choix linguistique de chaque intervenant.
Les données et les rapports d’enquête collectés ont été analysés
thématiquement et présentés d’après un schéma qualitatif.
Au Cameroun, les affaires foncières sont régies par trois ordonnances
prises en 1974 et trois décrets qui datent de 1976. Ces ordonnances
ont converti toutes les terres sauf les domaines de l’état et ceux
bénéficiant d’un titre foncier, en domaines nationaux et ceci aux termes
des sections 14 et 15 de l’Ordonnance no. 74-1 du 6 juillet 1974. La
section 1(1) du Décret No. 76/165/76 fait du titre foncier la seule
preuve de propriété. Les réformes domaniales de1974 et 1976 ont eu
très peu d’effets sur les droits de propriété, étant donné que moins de
2% des terres sont titrées. En conséquence, la plupart des terres non-
titrées tombent dans le domaine de l’état et ne comportent aucun
garanti pour ceux qui les occupent. Paradoxalement, les communautés
traditionnelles sans titre foncier aucun persistent dans leur droit de
propriété sur la base de liens coutumiers, de conquête et d’occupation
pionnière. L’ignorance juridique des communautés en matière de
propriété foncière les expose aux investisseurs véreux qui se lient avec
les élites locaux pour spolier des domaines jadis communautaires. En
RESUME 11
ce qui concerne la gestion, le domaine national est géré conjointement
par l’état et les communautés traditionnelles à travers la Commission
Consultative de Bornage présidé par le Préfet, la communauté pour sa
part étant représentée par son chef et deux de ses notables. La
Commission Consultative de Bornage démontre un changement
significatif dans le statut de la terre qui est passée d’une déesse à une
valeur marchande, et sa gestion qui passe de l’autorité communale à
l’autorité administrative. Certains investisseurs ont profité de la
faiblesse et de la naïveté de quelques communautés pour acquérir des
terres avec la complicité des chefs, des élites et des administrateurs.
Au Cameroun, l’acquisition des terres à grande échelle concerne trois
types de terre: privée, domaine de l’état, et domaine national. En
principe, les investisseurs utilisent les moyens formels, informels et
parfois les deux pour acquérir les terres. Les moyens formels
comprennent le bail, l’appel d’offre gouvernemental, et l’achat.
Acquisition informelle serait par des transactions douteuses avec des
leaders locaux et par la signature de Mémorandums avec ceux-ci. Sithe
Global Sustainable Oil Cameroon (SG-SOC) et PAMOL ont acquis des
milliers d’hectares de terre dans le Ndian et le Kupé Manengouba grâce
à des baux temporaires accordés par décret présidentiel sur proposition
de la Commission Consultative de Bornage. La Plantation de Haut Penja
a acheté l’Organisation Camerounaise de Banane dans le Moungo
grâce à l’appel d’offre du gouvernement et d’autres investisseurs dans
l’agronomie et les compagnies minières ont également acheté auprès
des privés, des terres additionnelles avec titre foncier par le truchement
de contrats privés.
La situation sur le terrain tend à prouver que la plupart des terres ainsi
achetées relevaient du domaine national et la transaction n’était pas
réglementaire. Ces procédés sont pour l’essentiel flous et ne prennent
guère compte de l’opinion des communautés concernées et qui, bien
que n’ayant pas de titre sur les terres en question, en dépendent
entièrement pour leur survie. En guise d’apaisement, et afin
d’impliquer les communautés, les investisseurs et le gouvernement
négocient de manière informelle avec les chefs, les élites et les leaders
communautaires dont les terres ont été saisies. En ce faisant, ils
12 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
séduisent ces communautés à céder leurs terres en signant des
mémorandums qui ne stipulent nullement les contreparties en termes
de projets de développement des communautés concernées. Ces
accords comportent souvent des éléphants blancs ou des promesses
creuses visant à approvisionner les communautés en routes, eau
potable, écoles, hôpitaux, etc., mais sans échéancier. La plupart des
communautés ont tourné le dos à ces propositions en qui elles
n’avaient pas confiance. Quelques élites et chefs qui ont signé les
accords au nom du village l’ont fait pour des raisons personnelles et
sans consultations ni l’accord des populations. Certains de ces accords
résultent de pression, d’intimidation, où de corruption des chefs et
autres élites locaux. A l’arrivée, les intérêts de la communauté, et en
particulier ceux des femmes, ne sont pas pris en compte. Le résultat, ce
sont des poursuites judiciaires, des protestations, des pétitions et
autres formes de résistance contre les transactions foncières à grande
échelle par des villageois mécontents dans le Ndian et le
Koupé Manengouba dans la Région du Sud-Ouest du Cameroun.
Au Cameroun, le processus d’octroi des terres aux investisseurs ne tient
pas compte de la participation des femmes en ce sens que la société
est patriarcale et les acteurs et les institutions en présence
n’embrassent pas les deux sexes. Dans les communautés étudiées ici,
les transactions foncières sont menées par des acteurs tels les
investisseurs, l’état, et des pans de la communauté représentés par les
chefs, les élites masculins et les jeunes. Les investisseurs et les acteurs
principaux ne se soucient guère des intérêts des femmes dans les
transactions foncières. Même quand les femmes sont présentes, leur
participation reste passive Leur pauvre participation est aidée par des
facteurs tels les croyances coutumières et le régime foncier
discriminatoire. Etant donné les rapports de forces en présence, les
femmes ne font souvent pas partie de la prise des décisions et des
processus de négociation en matière foncière, ce qui les place dans
une situation désavantageuse par rapport aux hommes. C’est dans ce
contexte qu’un officiel de la délégation départementale chargée des
affaires foncières dans le Moungo que nous avons interviewé ne s’est
pas limité à reconnaître l’existence de cette discrimination; il l’a trouvée
tout à fait normale. Il a précisé que “je n’ai jamais vu où les femmes
RESUME 13
sont consultées ou interviennent dans les affaires
foncières. Personnellement, je pense que les femmes ne devraient pas
figurer dans ces choses. » Même quand elles sont consultées,
l’opportunité est monopolisée par des femmes élitistes qui souvent ne
représentent qu’elles-mêmes. Une intervenante s’est plainte de ce que
“nous parlons et sont souvent consultées mais sont souvent aussi
trahies par les hommes ».
L’acquisition des terres à grande échelle ont des ramifications sur la
production vivrières, surtout chez les femmes qui dépendent près
qu’exclusivement de la culture vivrière pour leur subsistance. Selon les
officiels locaux, les chefs et les élites, les populations n’ont pas été
déplacées, mais la situation sur le terrain démontre que cultivateurs,
chasseurs, pécheurs et autres ont été déplacés loin de leurs sources de
revenus. En terme de compensation directe, très peu est fait dans le
sens de la promotion, la protection et le respect des droits fonciers des
femmes qui cultivent la terre, exploitent les forêts et utilisent l’eau des
terres cédées. Là où les opportunités d’emploi s’offrent, celles-ci
profitent souvent à une main-d’œuvre qualifiée importée. Les bas
salaires et l’instabilité de l’emploi pour les ouvriers non-qualifiés sont
autant de facteurs de découragement, comme les sont aussi la cherté
de la vie et l’arrivée massive de main-d’œuvre, comme c’est le cas à
Penja et à Njombé. La compensation n’est souvent rien par rapport aux
terres perdues, surtout lorsque l’on sait que la communauté dépend
exclusivement de ces dernières. Même les promesses faites par les
investisseurs en matière d’aménagement sont rarement tenues.
Toutefois, certains investisseurs, tels la PHP et la CDC ont livré des
écoles et des centres de santé, et ont réfectionné quelques routes dans
le Moungo même si tout ceci est destiné d’abord à leurs employés.
Dans la plupart des communautés au Cameroun, ce sont les femmes
qui assurent la suffisance alimentaire des foyers et ceci grâce à leur
rôle et contribution dans la sécurité alimentaire en tant que petites
fermières. La présente étude démontrent que les petits fermiers,
surtout les femmes, perdent de plus en plus de terres et s’interrogent
donc sur le développement social prôné par ceux qui s’arrachent les
grandes étendues de terre. En définitive, le triple rôle des femmes est
14 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
intimement lié aux ressources de la terre. Déplacer les femmes de la
terre comme ils l’ont fait à Ndian et au Kupé Manengouba, c’est les
priver des sources d’eau, de bois de chauffage, des fruits et des plantes
médicinales dont les familles ont besoin. Dans certaines communautés
dans le Moungo et à Ndian, la rareté des terres provoquée par
l’expansion aveugle des plantations agraires pousse à l’exode rural des
jeunes à la recherche de sources alternatives de vie. Au fur et à mesure
que les hommes partent, les femmes se retrouvent chefs de familles,
ce qui augmente leur volume de travail et de stress.
Les transformations socio-économiques opérées par ces acquisitions
des terres à grande échelle ont apporté très peu d’amélioration dans la
vie des ruraux. C’est pour cette raison que le Cameroun figure parmi les
pays où ce type de transaction foncière a connu un des plus grand taux
de résistance et de scandale. Les tentatives de création de nouvelles
plantations par la SOCAPALM et la SG-SOC par exemple ont rencontré
beaucoup de critiques à caractère sociale et environnementale. Grâce à
une convention avec le Ministère de l’Economie, du Plan et de
l’Aménagement du Territoire, la SG-SOC était entré en possession d’un
domaine d’une superficie de 73.086 hectares fait de forêts et de
champs et abritant une population de 14.000 personnes, de petits
fermiers pour la plupart. Le domaine en question était non loin de cinq
aires protégées, dont le Parc National de Korup. Le projet a suscité
beaucoup de résistance et d’appréhensions de la part notamment des
jeunes dans les communautés concernées et des ONG étrangers qui
doutent de la légalité et des mérites sociaux et environnementaux de
l’initiative. Les investisseurs mènent souvent leurs activités sans
consultations et sans l’apport des femmes, et au mépris des plaintes
des populations locales, des lois en vigueur, des normes
environnementales et des nécessités de compensation des
populations.
L’arrogance affichée par certains investisseurs a amené les populations
locales et des ONG tels Struggle to Economise Future Environment
(SEFE), Nature Cameroon, Green Peace et autres à se demander
pourquoi ces investisseurs foulent ainsi aux pieds la procédure et les
intérêts des populations lors des transactions foncières d’envergure.
RESUME 15
Ces questions sont à la base des résistances opposées à ces
transactions foncières par les femmes, les jeunes et les communautés.
Même si les femmes ne se placent pas en tête des grèves et autres
manifestations, pétitions, réunions et poursuites judiciaires, leur
participation reste déterminantes. A titre d’exemple, grâce à ces
actions, 1) le gouvernement a été contraint de réduire la superficie de
terre accordée à un investisseur, de 73.086 hectares à 20.000
hectares, et le bail d’une durée indéterminée à une durée de trois ans,
2) des femmes dont les champs avaient été détruits ou saisis tout
simplement par des gros investisseurs ont été mieux récompensées, 3)
la justice a pu sauver des terres menacées de saisi, 4) les
consultations sont maintenant de mise dans toute transaction foncière
à grande échelle, entre autres. Certains de ces acquits sont tombés
dans l’oubli du fait du manque de suivi par des mouvements de
femmes et de l’absence d’actions concertées de la part des
communautés concernées.
L’étude a mis en exergue des sujets pouvant nourrir les réflexions en
matière de politique de développement et de rapports entre hommes et
femmes dans la société. En particulier, elle :
1. souligne le déséquilibre entre les hommes et les femmes, et entre le gouvernement et les investisseurs dans les transactions foncières à grande échelle;
2. démontre que la partriachie exclu les femmes des affaires foncières et tait leur voix même lorsqu’elles sont présentes dans les négotiations. Malheureusement, il ne s’avère pas toujours vrai que les hommes (maris, pères, autres relations mâles) sont les défenseurs des droits des femmes.
3. souligne le fait que peu d’actions de la part des femmes ont pu contenir l’hostile hégémonisme des hommes et du gouvernement.A vraie dire, les femmes se sont donné très peu de raisons de croire qu’elles ont des droits et les revendiquent.
Ces sujets qui concernent surtout les femmes posent de manière
concrète la question de la représentation et de la légitimité en matière
d’acquisition des terres à grande échelle, de la sécurité alimentaire, des
femmes, de la justice environnementale, et de la nécessité de placer la
femme au centre de tout processus d’acquisition des terres à grande
16 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
échelle. Ces problématiques résultent de la conclusion que le
processus formel et informel d’acquisition de terres à grande échelle au
Cameroun néglige la femme, même comme elle en est la première
victime. Elle perd l’accès aux champs, à l’eau, aux bois de chauffage, et
aux autres ressources forestières dont elle dépend. Dans le Moungo
par exemple, les femmes couvrent de longues distances à la recherche
de champs à cultiver. Même les quelques emplois crées par les
sociétés sont trop peu et trop mal rémunérés pour pouvoir soutenir les
familles entières. Le non-respect par les investisseurs et le
gouvernement, des droits des femmes, de la justice environnementale
et des engagements en matière de développement constitue un terrain
fertile pour la vague actuelle de protestations et de résistance par les
populations affectées.
Les solutions aux défis relevés par cette étude ne consistent pas à chasser les sociétés qui gèrent les plantations, puisque celles-ci ont de réelles potentialités de développement dans les pays pauvres, à condition d’être bien gérées. Pour faire de ces activités des initiatives gagnant-gagnant, les lois foncières devraient d’office inclure les femmes dans toutes les structures de gestion des affaires foncières au Cameroun, telles la Commission Consultative de Bornage, le conseil traditionnel, etc. Même si la participation des femmes dans ces structures ne change pas automatiquement leur condition, leur voix reste prépondérante dans la recherche des voies alternatives de sortie de la pauvreté. L’état devrait insister sur le respect des procédés afin d’obtenir l’adhésion des populations locales. Ainsi, les transactions foncières ne seront approuvées que si elles garantissent la participation de la femme, la sécurité alimentaire, l’inclusion sociale et la protection de l’environnement. La gestion de la terre devrait être planifiée pour permettre que les terres soient réservées pour culture par les femmes avant toute transaction foncière à des fins industrielles. Des communautés et des femmes qui dépendent exclusivement de la terre devraient jouir de bénéfices régulières aussi longtemps que leurs terres sont exploitées à des fins industrielles. Une loi devrait être prévue qui octroi aux femmes rurales des possibilités de formation pour leur permettre d’occuper des fonctions dans l’agro-industrie. Parallèlement, l’état devrait mettre fin aux accords entre investisseurs et chefs traditionnels puisque ceux-ci n’ont aucun fondement légal.
Chapter 1
General introduction
There is a new dynamic in developing countries where land previously
used by customary communities is being taken over by foreign
companies, governments, and sometimes local elites for mining and
agro-transformation. OXFAM estimates that within the last 10 years,
governments and foreign companies alone have acquired 227 million
hectares of land in developing countries (AWID, 2013). The
phenomenon has been described variously as large-scale land
acquisitions (LSLAs), land rush or land grabbing. It is driven by the rush
for minerals, bio-fuel, agriculture, food and land speculation (Borras et
al., 2011) or it is propelled purely by profit (Grain, 2012). Large-scale
land acquisitions involve the accumulation of landholdings over a
hundred hectares, sometimes without due process, for agricultural,
mining and other commercial purposes.
Large-scale land acquisition is contentious. According to Oxfam,
international LSLAs per se are not a problem; they become one only
when whole communities or individuals are dispossessed of their land
for the sake of ‘development’, leading to low food production.
Alternatively, where the customary rights of local land users are ignored,
the problem becomes more a function of land legislation that does not
recognize these rights rather than of illegal allocation or acquisition.
IDRC (2012) believes that LSLAs could produce landless peasants and
agricultural wage laborers who may not be able to provide themselves
and families with food. Others, like governments in affected countries,
18 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
see no evil in LSLAs but rather a win-win situation which satisfies the
investor at the same time as it provides employment, development and
industrialization and greater food security amongst others (World Bank
2010).
In the case of land acquired for agriculture, proponents of LSLAs will
argue that agricultural transformation increases land productivity and
improves the living standards of rural dwellers. The pertinent question
to pose is, what is the reality on the ground? Literature reveals that
although many communities in developing countries, particularly in sub-
Saharan Africa, are continually losing thousands and thousands of
hectares of their land every year, there seems to be no clear evidence
of improvements in the standards of living of the population in affected
communities. Rather, more and more people are trapped in poverty,
without means of subsistence. They no longer have easy access to
basic human needs such as food, water and fuel wood, and thus cannot
enjoy their fundamental human rights. This phenomenon places rural
women especially who rarely enjoy security of tenure in very precarious
positions. In fact, any pressure on land resulting from high demand
affects women’s situation as users. Most large-scale land leases in
Cameroon are on national land, which, though administered by state
institutions, neglect the rights of customary communities who are
regarded as tenants.
Studies by Fonjong et al. (2012) and Yanou et al. (2013) have shown
that the absence of a good legal land ownership framework that
protects the rights of women, small farmers, the poor and other
vulnerable groups is partly responsible for the limited access to arable
land for the over 60% of the population involved in agriculture. The
2008 global food crisis reinforces the centrality of the agricultural
sector in general and traditional agriculture in particular in promoting
food security and reducing poverty. Linked to the significant role of
small-scale agriculture is the contribution of rural women. Food crop
production and water management is the principal reserve of the rural
women. Women in Cameroon for instance, are responsible for about
90% of food crops in the country (Amin et al., 2000; Krieger, 2000;
Endeley, 2001; Fonjong, 2004, 2002; Fonchingong, 1999, 2005).
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 19
While men migrate to urban areas and mines and other countries of
Southern Africa, women who are compelled to be heads of households
rely on subsistence food crop production for household survival
(Budlender & Alma, 2011).
Despite the predominant role of women in food crop production, they
have limited access to land through inheritance. This increasing
limitation of women’s access to and control over land is exacerbated by
the growth of LSLAs which, in addition to population growth, rapid
urbanization, political liberalization, land individualization and
nationalization, has increased land scarcity in Cameroon. The social
construction of women that assigns them traditional roles within the
family as house-keepers only deprives them of access to and control
over community land and makes them more vulnerable to the effects of
land grabbing (Lappin, 2012; Gobena, 2010).
On the whole, there seems to be nothing wrong with transnational and
national economic actors (corporations, national governments and
private equity funds) investing in cleaner energy or exploiting mineral
resources or better still converting less productive land in Africa into
more productive ventures. In fact, some of the actors involved in this
new agricultural revolution are Africans and a new south–south
dynamic is being nurtured. Apparently, what seems to be the issue is
how the process is being carried out, who benefits, and who suffers.
This raises the question of the legal framework used in attributing these
lands to investors and how the interests of local communities and other
vulnerable groups are accommodated in the process.
1.1. The research problem The right to land of local communities and the extent to which they can
benefit from land deals can only go as far as the law permits. Large-
scale land deals will always neglect or contest the interests of
communities living on the land where the laws do not recognize
customary tenure and define customary communities as tenants rather
than owners of the land. It will also exasperate the situation in
customary communities where the process of obtaining land titles is
20 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
cumbersome for the poor and where the definition of the notion of
‘vacant land’ by the law is vague. This study provides an opportunity to
revisit the land regimes in Cameroon, the legality of some of the land
deals and the extent to which these land deals protect women’s land
rights. Hausermann (1998, 56) also calls this the fundamental human
rights of affected communities and women that ensures survival and
dignified living and hence can promote human dignity, creativity and
intellectual and spiritual development.
These issues bring to the fore the problem of accountability and
legitimacy of both the process and its outcomes, particularly when one
considers the many instances of resistance mustered by affected
communities in countries like Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan, just to name
a few. If we construe accountability in the light of Polack, Cotula, and
Cote (2012), it is important to investigate the mechanisms through
which public actions in the negotiation of large-scale land deals respect
the substantive right of citizens, particularly vulnerable groups such as
women and youths. Equally important is interrogating the processes
that exist to make transnational corporations, local and traditional
councils and public authorities answerable for their actions. This means
focusing more on the relationship between women and affected
communities with the state and plantation companies in the
preparation and execution of land deals. It also means evaluating the
extent to which basic needs (water and food) occupy central stage
within this tripartite relationship of local communities, states and agro-
companies in the conclusion of land deals.
Increasing individualization of land that was previously communally
owned through privatization and land registration has not only polarized
the society into the rich land owners and the landless poor but has also
exposed the failure of land registration in protecting women and other
vulnerable groups. It creates opportunities for the minority rich to grab
most of the land and transforming the poor into landless wage laborers.
The ensuing circumstances further affirm that land reforms in most of
sub-Saharan Africa have so far not really addressed the two main types
of inequalities over land ownership (inequalities between men and
women, and between the rich and the poor) created by custom and
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 21
colonization. As a result, many duly concluded land deals may not only
lack legitimacy but can also be potential sources of conflict and hostility
between the masses and their states/investors, caused mainly by food
and water scarcity. Such hostilities have been witnessed between local
communities and the Gabonese government over the OLAM palm oil
project in Woleu-Ntem approved for a Singaporean agro-business firm
(FERN, 2012). Similar examples abound; for example, the Lom Pangar
power project carried out by the Chinese in Cameroon; the
100,000hectares of land attributed to the Chinese ZTE agro company in
DRC in 2008 (Reuter, 2013); and the 80,000 hectares attributed to the
South African agro group in Congo-Brazzaville (GRAIN, 2012) .
In most of these crises-ridden land deals, the participation of women in
the negotiations and attribution of land has been near absent. They are
either not included in their negotiation teams by chiefs because they
(the women) customarily do not own land, or are not invited by
government and investors who prefer to deal exclusively with the right
owners. Even where some level of consultation exists, information
gathered during these meetings on vacant land or on the type of
compensation demanded may still be inaccurate because women who
are on the land are excluded from the consultation . While these
exclusions are not new as they existed during colonization, what is new
is the fact that gender relations at home are challenging, with women
playing more determinant roles in the management of the homes.
LSLAs today are taking place against the backdrop of land scarcity
created by other dynamics (population growth for example). This
requires gender inclusiveness and careful planning in proposing
alternative options or compensation for women who are legitimately or
illegally occupying the land so that the process is beneficial to all.
The need for public accountability in the current land rush has become
increasingly central in discussing not only harmful investments but how
the local populace wronged by land LSLAs can seek justice. More
research is needed to explain among others whether the large land
deals concluded take into consideration the interests of women and
local communities; how the activities on these lands are compatible
22 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
with women, community and national needs; what women and affected
communities are doing to demand accountability, and how these
communities, particularly women - the life wires of rural areas - can be
made to play a significant and more effective role in the present
dispensation.
It is from the above premise that the study examines women’s
participation in the current process of large-scale land acquisitions and
the conditions under which women and affected communities can be
mainstreamed in the process so that LSLAs take into account the
interests of women, affected masses and the investors. In more specific
terms, the study:
1. explores the formal and informal rules and mechanisms
employed by actors involved in LSLAs in the study areas in
Cameroon;
2. generates gender-sensitive, evidence-based knowledge that can
be used by women, local communities, non-state actors and
public authorities to promote women’s involvement in LSLAs
and enhance accountability and legitimacy in processes of
LSLAs in Cameroon;
3. develops evidence that demonstrates the ways in which women,
men, communities, states and international actors can better
respect and promote women’s rights during LSLAs processes;
and
4. proposes gender-inclusive strategies for formal and informal
institutions that will respect, promote, and protect women's
rights in the process of LSLAs.
Chapter 2
Methodology
Cameroon is divided into ten administrative regions (Map 1). These
regions are further divided into divisions, and into sub-divisions. At
independence in 1960/1961, Cameroon inherited a dual colonial past
in which 4/5 of the territory was ruled by the French and 1/5 by the
British, giving rise to the present-day Francophone and Anglophone
Cameroon. Fieldwork took place in two political regions: the Littoral
Region in Francophone Cameroon, and the South West Region in
Anglophone Cameroon. The Mungo Division was chosen in the Littoral,
and Ndian and Kupe Manenguba Divisions in the South West (Map 3),
although some allusion is made to Fako Division. The two regions and
associated divisions were purposefully selected based on four key
considerations:
a) both have important histories of plantation agriculture,
b) they are among the regions considered as the food basket of
Cameroon,
c) in addition to hosting the largest national agro-company (the
Cameroon Development Corporation-CDC), operating and
expanding in both regions, other companies, both old and new,
are acquiring and expanding plantation land in the regions,
24 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
d) they both represent the linguistic/cultural diversities of
Cameroon (English and French1) inherited from European
colonization, with two different legal systems, and
e) geographically, they are neighbours.
Map 1: Administrative regions of Cameroon
1 Cameroon is a bilingual country of Anglophones and Francophones, with English and French as the official languages. The South West Region is found in the English speaking part of the country and Littoral in the French.
METHODOLOGY 25
There are four main agro-companies operating in the three divisions
under study (Table 1). These companies were purposefully chosen to
reflect their different histories, activities, methods of land acquisition,
and amounts of land acquired (see Chapter 4).
Table 1: Companies and localities considered in the study
Company Country of
origin
Location of study
Region Divisions
1 Sithe Global Sustainable
Oil Cameroon (SG-SOC)
United
States
South West Ndian
Kupe
Manenguba
2 PAMOL Cameroon South West Ndian
3 Société des Plantations
du Haut Penja (PHP)
France Littoral Mungo
4 Cameroon Development
Corporation (CDC)
Cameroon South West Fako
Ndian
Littoral Mungo
Fieldwork, 2015
26 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Map 2: Location of the two regions of the study
METHODOLOGY 27
2.1. Population studied and sampling
Five different groups of respondents were interviewed. They are
categorized based on their specificities as relates to their activities on
land and their role in the process of land acquisition. The five different
groups identified were: administrative authorities, chiefs, affected
population, women, investors, and NGOs.
a) Administrative Authorities
These consist of local public officials (appointed and elected) and
officials from technical ministries dealing directly with land and
women’s issues, and include Senior Divisional Officers (SDOs) in charge
of administrative divisions, Divisional Officers (DOs) for Sub-Divisions,
Mayors, Members of Parliament, and representatives of ministries in
charge of Land Tenure, Economy, Planning and Regional Development,
Agriculture, Women’s Empowerment and the Family, and Forestry. Each
of these officials, excepting representatives of Women’s Empowerment,
is directly or indirectly involved in land governance and in the process of
large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs). The SDOs are those who chair the
Site Board Commissions (SBC) that manage state lands, the DOs chair
the Land Consultative Board (LCB) for national lands; the Ministry of
Landis the Secretary of land commissions and also the local land
revenue collector; the Ministry of Agriculture assesses crops that are
destroyed on land for compensation; and the Ministry of Forestry is
concerned with the trees that are felled on the land. Elected
parliamentarians make the laws regulating access, acquisition and
ownership of land, and are expected to represent local interests just as
Mayors are local politicians capable of influencing the sale and
purchase of land in their municipalities. Officials of the Ministry of
Women’s Empowerment work with women and women groups and are
expected to be promoting women’s concerns through government
action.
b) Chiefs or traditional leaders
Chiefs or traditional leaders are dominantly male and play both
customary and statutory roles in land matters in Cameroon. As head of
the village, they customarily manage all village lands. Statutorily, the
28 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
1974 Land Ordinance defines chiefs as custodians of national land.
Chiefs and notables are members of the Land Consultative Board, an
organ that examines applications and recommends for land certification
and grants.
c) Women and local communities
Women in local affected communities are the target population in the
study. Their livelihoods depend on the land and are therefore the direct
victims or beneficiaries of large-scale land transaction. Since women
are the focus of the study, one focus group workshop was organized for
women from Ndian and Kupe Manenguba Divisions to provide further
insights into their local experiences with LSLAs.
d) Investors/companies
These are companies and individuals who have acquired or are in the
process of acquiring land for agro-plantations in the study area. They
may be national, foreign, or multinational companies working with
communities in different areas of their socio-economic life and in the
protection of the environment.
e) NGOs for their part are the non-governmental organizations operating
in the study areas and whose activities are related to land or resources
on land. They are local, national or foreign organizations.
Table 2: Summary situation of interviewees
SN Category of interviewees Number interviewed
1 Female respondents 38
2 Female chiefs 01
3 Male Chiefs 13
4 Male respondents 36
5 Government officials 16
6 Investors 04
7 NGOs and civil society organizations 08
8 Female focus group discussion 01
METHODOLOGY 29
2.2. Research instruments The main method used for data collection is in-depth interview using
interview guides. A workshop to design the interview guide was held in
Cameroon by the enlarged team of researchers from Ghana, Uganda
and the host country. At the end five interview guides were developed
and made to adapt to the local realities of each country. For example,
the guides for Cameroon were translated into French. The interview
guides were designed to accommodate the specificities of each group
while at the same time complimenting each other. The five sets of
interview guides, each addressed to the different groups of
respondents, were prepared and administered to community members,
women, investors, administrative authorities, traditional authorities, and
NGOs. On the whole, the interview guide generally contained questions
on how the land was acquired, who was consulted, the compensation
plan put in place by the companies if any, reasons for
community/women resistance, economic costs of the resistance, and
efforts made by all stakeholders to establish confidence between
investors and local communities.
The guide directed to women and communities, for example, focused on
the importance and use of land in the community, the availability of
land, their level of consultation and participation in the process of
LSLAs, benefits from LSLAs, local resistance against LSLAs, and
outcomes. Interview guides for chiefs mostly dwelt on their knowledge
of the land statutes and extent of village land, choice and type of
contract with investors, ability to negotiate and benefits from the sale of
land, and level of transparency and consultation with other community
members. We also probed the involvement of women in the
consultation process, their relationship with public authorities on land
matters, and attitudes towards local resistance, among others. The
guide for investors sought to know the quantity of land each occupied in
the country, how they had acquired land, what compensation was paid,
the types of crops and activities these companies are involved in, their
relationship with government, chiefs, women’s groups (if any),NGOs and
affected communities, opportunities created for women, and evaluation
of their contribution to local development. Questions contained in the
interview guide for administrators delve into the status and procedures
30 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
for allocating land to investors, respect of the laws and community
interests in the process, the question of consultation, compensation,
local resistance, and their relationship with investors, chiefs, and
communities in the process of LSLAs. NGOs were interviewed on issues
related to their activities concerning land, community consultations,
resistances and the protection of women and other displaced
vulnerable groups in the process of LSLAs.
2.3. Data collection procedure Preliminary literature review on LSLAs in Cameroon provided
information on the extent and geographical scope of the problem. This
information was useful in choosing the study area (both the
administrative regions and the divisions studied). Pre-tests involving all
team members were carried out in a few villages in the study area prior
to the actual interviews. The field interviews were conducted by a
research team of fourteen (consisting of four researchers and ten
trained research assistants) intermittently (from February 2014 to
March 2016). A few of these interviews, particularly those with senior
government officials and traditional leaders, were more in the form of
discussions and sometimes lasted longer than 90 minutes, but on the
whole, the average duration of the interviews was about 45-60 minutes.
Some of these interviews were recorded alongside the field notes.
Reconnaissance field visits were made to Mungo, Ndian and Kupe
Muanenguba Divisions where some of the early communities and
respondents were identified and contacts created. During these trips
telephone numbers and other vital information on potential informants
were collected. These trips were followed by a project inception work
organized at the University of Buea bringing together members and
representatives of the administration, investors, affected communities,
chiefs, and NGOs from all the divisions under study. Although well
attended, just one company was represented. During this workshop, the
objectives of the study and researchers involved were presented to
participants. The inception workshop achieved three things. It
a) helped in the identification of would-be respondents and created
contacts with them,
METHODOLOGY 31
b) dismissed to an extent the spell, fear and suspicion among would-
be respondents on the subject which some communities
considered sensitive, and
c) provided a serene atmosphere for confidence building among
researchers and would-be respondents.
Based on the information on localities and respondents obtained from
the preliminary literature review, the reconnaissance field visits and the
inception workshop, a working plan for the villages, chiefs, local
administrators, technical services, investors and NGOs was established.
The list included all the three SDOs, selected DOs, all local officials from
the Ministries of Land Tenure, Agriculture, Women’s Empowerment and
the Family, Forestry, Wild Life, local chiefs, companies, NGOs, Mayors,
MPs, and others. All service heads at divisional and sub-divisional
levels, because of their knowledge of the role of their services in land
deals were automatically considered for the study. All these public
officials were male, except one official of the Ministry of Women’s
Empowerment, one female MP and one Mayor. Dates and locations for
interviews were pre-arranged by telephone to guard against the visits
conflicting with other commitments of public officials. All interviews with
this category of respondents as in the case of investors and NGOs were
done uniquely by the researchers and not by research assistants. At the
end of each interview an interview report was prepared highlighting the
main discussions, constraints and anomalies.
Primary data from interviews were complimented with content analysis
of field reports collected from each of the categories of respondents
interviewed. These reports included annual reports from companies and
government departments, conventions and memorandum of
understanding signed between the government or communities with
investors to lease out land, decrees, petition letters, legal cases and
rulings, and other related reports.
2.4. Data analysis Data from the study were mostly qualitative in nature although some
quantitative data were deduced and reported from qualitative data after
32 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
coding. The primary method of data analysis was therefore qualitative
and thematic, and was carried out through a number of delineated
stages.
Stage I: Data cleaning. This involves going through all the field notes
and reports that accompanied individual interviews and discarding
some of the interviews that were not properly administered or those in
areas like Bima and Siyam where activities of LSLAs had not actually
gone operational and thus made it difficult for the respondents to
answer most of the questions.
Stage II: Transcription of interviews: This process took more than two
months. During this process, all the audio tapes were transcribed and
edited. Again the field reports and notes that accompanied each field
interview were very useful in filling the gaps or understanding some of
the complications and mismatches noticed during the process. Each
transcript was coded, dated and given a location name.
Stage III: Data analysis workshops: Two workshops were held prior to
the thematic analysis. The first workshop took place at the University of
Ghana-Legon with participants from the two other country teams from
Ghana and Uganda. During the workshop, the structure of data
reporting was framed and agreed and some of the pre-existing themes
and codes that cut across the three countries’ case studies were
identified. The second workshop, a follow-up to the Ghana workshop,
but limited this time to the Cameroon team, lasted for three days
followed by weeks of actual data coding. It was animated by experts in
qualitative analysis and attended by the local researchers and research
assistants. The workshop dwelled on the nature of thematic analysis,
the process of coding, and building themes from transcripts of
interviews.
Stage IV: Data coding
Thematic analysis used both the inductive and the a priori approaches
to identify themes. First the research objectives were outlined and
variables identified and cited. The transcripts were regrouped into the
five categories of interviewees; namely, administrators, chiefs, women,
NGOs and investors. Codes describing variables were picked out from
METHODOLOGY 33
the transcripts. Lower level codes were eventually merged to form new
themes or consolidate pre-existing ones. Other codes were derived from
content analysis of investors’ and government sectorial reports relating
to their activities regarding land acquisition and management. The
frequencies of some of the codes were of interest and computed to
form part of the quantitative data reported in the study.
2.5. Ethical considerations Administrative clearance was obtained from the Ministry of Higher
Education and from the divisional administrative authorities of Mungo,
Ndian and Kupe Muanenguba Divisions. These administrative
clearances authorizing the study in the various localities in all the three
divisions were issued following assurance of the scientific and
academic nature of the study. By extension, verbal and written consents
were obtained respectively from respondents who could not read and
those literate after explaining the objectives of the study. Clear
commitments were taken to ensure the confidentiality and anonymity of
respondents at all stages of the research. However, administrative and
traditional officials had no problem with being identified; e.g., the SDO
of… instead of Mr. John, or Chief of Village X rather than Chief Peter.
Participants were free to withdraw from the study at any moment if they
no longer felt comfortable, and were not constrained to answer all the
questions.
No matter how clear the data collection process was, following it
remained challenging. For one thing, respondents had to work in one of
three languages (English, French or Pidgin). Besides, some of them
were not literate and required additional help. Although the public was
generally apprehensive discussing LSLAs which was regarded as a
sensitive issue, women were also not comfortable with certain
questions. This concerned particularly those questions dealing with the
transparency of the process of LSLAs. The translation of the
instruments into French, while solving the language problem, created
another. More time was required to translate the transcript of their
responses back into English. The women-only focus group workshop
enabled a few more women to express their views more freely.
Chapter 3
Context and Framing of the Study
This Chapter places the study within its theoretical context. It discusses
the role of women in agriculture and by extension the notions of rights
and accountability as implicated in the concept of participation.
Participation is the principal concept used to frame the study and to
elucidate the demand for accountability by women in LSLAs.
3.1. Women, agriculture and LSLAs Agriculture is an engine of growth and poverty reduction in agrarian
countries where it is the main source of livelihood for the poor (World
Bank, 2007). However, the agricultural sector in many developing
countries is underperforming, partly because of the quality and how
factors of production and other productive resources with the sector are
combined. Rural women play a key role in agriculture in developing
countries. Not only do these women produce and process agricultural
products but they are also responsible for much of the trade and play
an important role as rural information sources and providers of food to
urban areas (Prakash, 2003). FAO (2011a) believes that national
governments and the international community need women in their
efforts to achieve their goals for agricultural development, economic
growth and food security.
While many people in poor countries do not have secure property rights
and access to adequate resources; women have less access to land
than men do (FAO, 2011b). Rural women in particular are at the
CONTEXT & FRAMING OF THE STUDY 35
strategic center of reducing hunger, malnutrition, and poverty as they
play a central role in household food security, dietary diversity, and
children’s health. In many cases, socio-cultural factors limit women’s
access to and rights over resources (FAO, 2011a; Doss, 2013). Women
in developing countries are consistently less likely to own land; they
have fewer rights to land, and the land they own or have access to, is of
lower quality in comparison to those owned by men (FAO, 2011a). To
Kongolo (2012), land is an important resource for the survival of rural
women and to give women land is to empower them to fight food
insecurity and poverty. Improving women’s access to and control over
economic resources, particularly land, has a positive effect on a range
of development goals including poverty reduction and economic growth
(FAO, 2011b).
Women make essential contributions to the agricultural and rural
economies in all developing countries. They constitute the majority of
smallholder farmers, providing most of the labor and managing a large
part of the farming activities on a daily basis (Saiko et al,, 1994). As
men migrate out of rural areas, women become de facto farm
managers. In such households, women's autonomy and authority vary
over time (World Bank, 2006). Women’s activities typically include
producing agricultural crops, tending animals, processing and preparing
food, working for wages in agricultural or other rural enterprises,
collecting fuel and water, engaging in trade and marketing, caring for
family members and maintaining their homes. Many of these life
essential activities are not defined as “economically active
employment” in national accounts (FAO, 2011a). Even with extremely
limited access to resources, studies have claimed that women produce
60 to 80 percent of food in most developing countries and half of the
world’s food supply (Momsen, 1991; Mehra and Rojas, 2008). In
Cameroon alone, they provide more than 75% of agricultural labor yet
own just 10% of land (Mason and Carlsson, 2004).
Women in sub-Saharan Africa where their land tenure is uncertain
operate under particularly disadvantaged conditions compared to men.
Even with some improvements in land legislations that grant them basic
land rights, they are still held back by customary discriminations against
36 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
their ownership and inheritance rights. Closing the gender gap in
agriculture, according to the FAO (2011a), would generate significant
gains for the agricultural sector and for society. FAO argues that women
could increase yields on their farms by 20-30% if they had the same
access to productive resources as men. This could raise total
agricultural output in developing countries by 2.5-4%, which could in
turn reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 12-17%.
Although women face multiple and varied challenges such as less
access to information, technology, land, inputs and credit in agriculture,
the effect of gender discrimination in rights have more far reaching
impact on their productivity than any other. Land is not only a
productive asset, it is also important as collateral for securing finance
and credit. Lack of security in land tenure reduces incentives for long
term investments or to invest in improving the land, resulting in lower
productivity. The introduction of private property tenure systems and the
growth of land markets sustained by post-independence governments
have triggered changes in customary tenure regimes (FAO, 2007). The
largest impact has been on the social networks that existed in earlier
customary systems. Women’s access to land that was once protected
by the clan and patrilineage, social safety nets are now highly
individualized and less certain (Flintan, 2010). As part of the state’s
efforts to modernize agriculture, land has been made available to
politically and economically powerful individuals and entities.
Businessmen and high-ranking bureaucrats have obtained private
property rights to rangelands, pastures and farmlands (GOC Land Law
74-1, 1974). All these, including the current land rush for large-scale
investments in agriculture and mining, have made land scarce, with far-
reaching implications on women’s land rights and livelihood options.
3.2. Theoretical frameworks The study of women’s land rights in the context of LSLAs is framed
around the concept of rights, accountability, and participation. Rights
are derived from human rights. It is the responsibility of any government
to ensure that the rights of the most vulnerable, discriminated and
socially excluded groups, including the poor, are effectively protected
against public authorities and private actors (UN, 2003).
CONTEXT & FRAMING OF THE STUDY 37
3.2.1. The concept of accountability
As Black (2008) notes, accountability deals with the relationships
between a decision-making authority and agents of accountability or
those working to hold that authority to account. The question thus
becomes who should be accountable to whom, against what standard,
and how (Black, 2008). Agents of accountability can better act only
where channels to influence and control the conduct of authority exist
and that authority is exercised under clear standards established by law
at all levels.
Recent discourses on LSLAs revolve around the twin notions of
accountability (IDRC, 2013), from the standpoint of rights and powers.
As rights, aaccountability is interpreted as the substantive right and
processes to make the state, local and traditional structures and their
executives answerable (Pollack, 2012) to the rural population for
actions that interfere with their right to livelihood, clean environment
and participation in the decision-making processes on their land. Cotula
(2011) observes that accountability as a right has been almost non-
existent in LSLAs. He examines the contractual issues for which public
scrutiny is most needed and realises that little or no consultation is
done by the investors with the local population, especially women who
are the most affected. The problem stems from the fact that formal land
ownership is rare in the sub-Saharan region (Sparks, 2012) as most of
the land is owned by the state. Where customary tenures are functional,
local resource users tend to think they have sufficient tenure security
and so do not see the need to seek formal titles (Cotula, 2011).
Customary rights are, however, not legally recognised in Cameroon. The
state alone has the legal authority to enter into land deals, especially on
national land considered “empty and/or underutilised” (Fischer et al.,
2002); and this without consulting existing local users. That is how local
communities are side-lined by both the state and investors in the LSLA
process and their environment raped. In essence, they are considered
as people without legal rights over land, no matter for how long they
have lived on and utilized it.
38 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
As power, accountability denotes mechanisms, skills, capacities to
claim power or avenues to challenge failures or breaches of obligation
(Pollack et al., 2012: 6; Argawal et al., 2011:16). It thus follows firstly
that the ignorance and the absence of relevant skills render most rural
women powerless and without ability to challenge existing land laws
and unfair practices of investors. Moreover, affected communities and
women are ill-equipped to challenge the intransigence of the
institutions and officials who hold office for the state, and who would
rather bend the rules to save the system than render account to the
population, state institutions and laws that they are supposed to be
serving.
Pollack et al. (2012; 13) argue that efforts by some civil society
organizations to make the state and local governments answerable to
citizens have been unsuccessful because sanctions and incentives to
force compliance remain weak, and the citizenry scarcely gets redress.
It is within this context of rights and powers that the study examines the
extent to which women in affected areas have been able to gain
knowledge and organize themselves into functional groups and
agencies that enable them to believe in their land rights on the one
hand, and, on the other, equip themselves with capacities and abilities
to accompany these rights to demand just and fair treatment from both
government and investors whenever they are dispossessed of their
land.
3.2.2. The Concept of participation
The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)
describes participation as “the organized effort to increase control over
resources and regulative institutions on the parts of groups and
movements hitherto excluded from such control (Acland, 2003). The
purpose of participation is to achieve change in relation to the purpose
identified (Involve, 2005). Participation takes place at different levels:
public and/or individual, although both overlap. At the public level,
individuals are able to take part in the various structures and
institutions of democracy otherwise referred to as participatory
governance (Brodie et al., 2009). Voting in local or national elections,
assuming an elected office, taking part in government consultation, etc.
are some examples of public participation. Individual participation
CONTEXT & FRAMING OF THE STUDY 39
represents the choices and actions that individuals make as part of
their daily life in defining the kind of society they aspire for (Ginsborg,
2005; Melucci, 1996). Some examples of this type of participation
highlighted by these authors include boycotting of specific products;
donating money to charities; or signing petitions. Individuals may be
involved in collective action otherwise referred to as social or
community participation. It refers to collective activities that individuals
may be involved in as part of their everyday lives (Brodie et al., 2009).
Those involved in collective participation, according to Jochum et al.
(2005), are motivated by their faith or values, and also by their sense of
community, among other reasons.
Sidaway (2005) postulates that for participation to be fair, it should be
based on four principles: how the process is initiated, how inclusive it is,
if relevant information is freely available to all stakeholders, and
whether the deliberations have genuine influence over the final
decision. Involve (2005) in the same vein, outlines the following
features of participation: It is voluntary, not compulsory; inclusive and
accessible; transparent in terms of purpose and those who can be
involved; possesses the power and adequate resource to carry the
objective through; is accountable to members; and seeks to promote
learning and development among all those involved. In examining or
interrogating women’s involvement in the process of LSLAs in
Cameroon, Involve’s (2005) characterization of participation enables
one to examine the extent to which the process is transparent,
inclusive, accessible or accountable to women and other vulnerable
members in affected communities. Accountability is crucial in the sense
that defining the characteristics and roles of participants in any
participatory process is imperative for participation to be accountable
(Involve, 2005).
Involve (2005) postulates a checklist which is helpful in evaluating the
level of women and community participation in LSLAs. The following
selected key questions from the Involve (2005) checklist are useful in
framing the present study:
40 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Table 3: Framework for understanding women’s participation in LSLAs
Increasing the level of public participation
Inform Consult Involve Collaborate Empower
Targeted
public
participatio
n Goal in
LSLAs
To provide
balanced
and objective
information
that assists
the public in
understandin
g the LSLAs:
its
opportunities
, challenges
and
alternatives.
To analyze
feedback
from the
public, and
make
decisions
based on
alternatives
.
To work
directly with
the public
throughout the
process to
ensure that
their land
rights, and
livelihood
concerns are
consistently
understood
and
mainstreamed
To partner with
the public with
each aspect of
the decision
including the
development of
alternatives
and
identification of
preferred
solutions
based on trust
To place
final
decision-
making in
the
hands of
the public
Actual
situation
for women
Promises
to the
Public
We will keep
you informed
We will
keep you
informed,
listen to
and
acknowledg
e concerns
and desires
and provide
feedback
on how they
have
influenced
our
decisions.
We will work
with you to
ensure that
your concerns
and
aspirations are
directly
reflected in all
final decisions
and provide
feedback.
We will look to
you for advice
and innovation
in formulating
solutions and
incorporate
your advice
and
recommendati
ons in the
decisions to
the maximum
extent
possible.
We will
implemen
t what
you
decided
Actual
realization
for women
Source: Adapted from Brodie et al., 2009:17
CONTEXT & FRAMING OF THE STUDY 41
Who are directly responsible for the decisions on land during
LSLAs?
Who are those influential in the area or affected communities?
Who (in terms of gender) will be affected by any decisions on
LSLAs?
Who can obstruct a decision on LSLAs if not involved?
Who has not been involved in land issues in the past, but should
have been?
These key questions are important in understanding the gender
dynamics and women’s participation in LSLAs and thus pave the way to
analyzing the spectrum of participation. This is because participation is
influenced and shaped by a range of societal and contextual factors
(Brodie et al., 2009). While Involve (2005) raises questions of
involvement and managing the process of participation, Brodie et
al.(2009) highlight the content of each level of participation. At what
level of the Brodie et al. (2009) framework are women involved in the
process of LSLAs? Or in involving women in the process, what goal is
the state and/or other stakeholders trying to meet? Whatever the case,
participation should be carried out in such a manner that it is able to
avoid or eliminate unfair deals which may ultimately result in long-term
open conflicts to the detriment of all parties involved (Haselip, 2011),
as is the case with the various resistances against LSLAs.
The literature on participation reveals that the absence of resources,
discrimination, prejudices, among others poses serious barriers to
participation. Musick and Wilson (2008) will argue that education
creates room for more extensive and heterogenous social networks,
which increases opportunities to participate and vice-versa. Financial
poverty constrains people’s ability to participate in charitable causes
(Low et al., 2007), and the cost of travel to participate in a
demonstration, or deliver a petition, or for local counselors in rural
parishes has been identified as an obstacle (Haberis and Prendergrast,
2007). The psychological barrier identified in the literature has to do
with confidence and security on the issues at stake. This is the case
when people are less confident and insecure about their knowledge of
formal politics, and difficult voting procedures (Power Inquiry, 2006). It
42 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
also applies to land and the knowledge of land law and the confidence
of rural people called upon to negotiate with big companies and their
lawyers during LSLAs. Such lack of confidence and knowledge can lead
to the discrimination of certain groups, particularly women. Blakey et al.
(2006) note that such groups could face high levels of stigma from
within their own communities, or from the wider population, that can
discourage individuals’ involvement. Rai (2008) also found that women
often experience gender, race and/or faith discrimination which can
deter them from participating politically.
The accountability and participation frameworks provide indicators to
understand how the exclusion of women and the absence of procedural
and distributive justice in the process of LSLAs have caused women to
suffer from the effects of LSLAs more than any other groups in affected
communities. This is particularly because, although customs and land
statutes regulating land are respectively gender-biased and gender-
neutral, they are operating in a patriarchal context.
Chapter 4
Historical context of land governance and large-scale land acquisitions
in Cameroon
Large-scale land acquisitions in Cameroon are carried out mostly by
large multi-national and a few national corporations with the blessing of
the government. This contemporary phenomenon has gained grounds
nationally although we focus particularly on examples in the South West
and Littoral Regions. Just like in other regions of the country (Centre,
North West, and South), activities of LSLAs take place mostly on what is
known today as national land. Rural women are predominantly those
exploiting national land for food and income.
Historically, LSLAs can be grouped into four time periods:
1) pre-colonial
2) colonial (1884-1960),
3) post-colonial before liberalization (1960-late 80s), and
4) liberalization (1990- present).
Although the dynamics and repercussions on agricultural communities,
especially women, the environment and the economy over these
periods might be different, the legal context has largely been dictated
by colonial laws and the 1974 and 1976 Land Ordinances. Both
colonial and post-colonial land laws emphasized the importance of land
registration.
44 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
4.1. Historical Evolution of Land Tenure Laws and Early Signs of LSLAs The evolution of the land tenure laws in Cameroon have been shaped
by the different colonial powers that ruled Cameroon. The Cameroonian
land tenure system and laws evolved as Cameroon moved from a purely
traditional society, to an independent modern state, passing through
the colonial periods of the German, British and French.
4.1.1 Pre-colonial era
Before colonization, land was regarded by the indigenes as an element
of nature, just like water air and fire, incapable of ownership since in
African jurisprudence, ownership is exercisable over objects made by
man. To the native, land was not only a deity, but an identity and an
ancestral gift to the community as a whole. That is why individual
ownership of land is foreign. This land which was acquired through
conquest or first settlement (Fonjong etal., 2011) belonged to a
community as a village or a family just like a corporate entity. This is
aptly described in the Privy Council Decision of Viscount Haldane in
Amodu Tijani v. Secretary of Southern Nigeria2thus:
“…the notion of individual ownership is quite foreign to native
ideas. Land belongs to the community, the village or the family,
never to the individual. All members of the community, village or
family have an equal right to the land, but in every case the
chief or headman of the community or village, or head of the
family has charge of the land and in loose mode of speech is
sometimes called the owner. He is to some extent in the
position of a trustee, and as such holds the land for use of the
community or family. He has control of it, and any member who
wants a piece of it to cultivate or build upon, goes to him for it.
But the land so given remains the property of the community or
family. He cannot make any important disposition of the land
without consulting the elders of the community or family and
their consent must in all cases be given before a grant can be
made to a stranger. This is pure native custom … and wherever
we find…individual owners, this is again due to the introduction
2See also Rayner C.J’s Report on Land Tenure in West Africa (1898). See generally on this Elias, T.O: Nigerian Land Law, 4th Edition, London, Sweet & Maxwell; R.W. James, Modern Land Law of Nigeria, University of Ife Press
HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF LAND GOVERNANCE 45
of English ideas…except where land has been bought by the
present owner there are very few natives who are individual
owners of land3.”
This locus classicus aptly depicts land tenure ownership in customary
jurisprudence as it was before the colonial arrival and still obtains today
(Joko, 2006; Fombad, 2009). Such allocation of land was mainly to men
and not to women who could only come onto the land through their
male matrikins or patrikins. It can be deduced from the Decision above
on customary land ownership that:
i) individual ownership is alien as land is owned by the
community;
ii) land is not inalienable but could be transferred only after due
consultation of the family or community elders; and
iii) the chiefs/family heads were mere custodians of these
customary lands.
This was the land tenure system that the colonial powers met.
4.1.2. Colonial rule and early signs of large-scale land acquisitions German rule (1884-1914) in Cameroon began with the Treaty of
Annexation (Protectorate Treaty) on 12th July 1884 that was signed by
King Akwa on behalf of Kings and Chiefs of Douala and Adolf Woerman
on behalf of German firms. The chiefs by this treaty agreed to abandon
all their rights relating to sovereignty, legislation and administration of
the territory to the Germans. In return, the Germans were to respect the
customary laws of the natives. The Germans pursued a policy of land
appropriation from the natives for little or no consideration (Ardener,
1968) for their use for plantation agriculture. Subsequently, the German
Imperial Government enacted the German Kronland Act of 15 July 1896
which provided that all lands which were not effectively occupied by the
natives were herrenloss land (terra nullius) and so assimilated as part
of German overseas dominions and therefore the property of the
German Imperial Government. By this Act, the Germans neglected the
fact that although the natives were not effectively using the land by
3 [1921] A.C. 399 at p. 404
46 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
their definition, at no time were such lands not claimed by them.
Effective occupation ignored land on fallow (a scenario common to
shifting cultivation which was a normal practice), hunting ground, and
land for harvesting non forest timber products or community reserves.
The natives did not ‘effectively’ occupy any significant quantity of land
at the time; as a result, most native land became the property of the
German imperialists except land effectively occupied by the chiefs or
those which the Germans had given as freehold interests. Very fertile
land was taken over for plantation agriculture at the foot of Mount Fako
and others carted into reservaats or reserves (Clarence-Smith, 1989).
By the time the First World War that ousted the Germans from
Cameroon broke out in 1914, German plantations had grown to
300.000 Ha or approximately 58 estates (ibid). These appropriated
lands form part of the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), which
is part of this study. Plantation agriculture deprived the indigenes of
their ancestral land and converted the natives into wage laborers. To
legalize their hold on the land, the Germans went further to introduce a
land register (Grundbuch) for land registration against a fee; an act that
guaranteed land titles for German companies and individuals who had
bought appropriated land4.
After World War I, Cameroon was partitioned between the British and
French and ruled as mandated territories of the League of Nations and
subsequently as Trust territories of the United Nations after WWII. In the
British Cameroons, the lands were placed under the control of the
governor and the natives were given only rights of occupancy over
native lands. The Mandate Agreement in Art 9 gave powers to Britain to
administer Southern Cameroons as an integral part of Britain but taking
into consideration native laws and customs and safeguard the interests
of the indigenes. No native land was to be transferred except between
natives and with the consent of the competent authority as required by
Art 8. Section 3 of the British Cameroons Administration (Amendment)
Ordinance No. 1927, the principal land tenure law at the time provided
that all lands except the estates registered and recognized by the
4 Some natives like the Mokebas, Rhoom and Manga Williams around Victoria (now Limbe) took advantage of this to register their title as freehold lands. This gave the Mokebas opportunity to open up plantations in the periphery of CDC plantations.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF LAND GOVERNANCE 47
British were native lands put under the control of the Prime Minister
(PM) who shall hold and administer the land for the natives. No use of
native land was valid without the PM’s consent.
Ordinance No. 1927 thus converted indigenes’ rights of ownership over
ancestral land into customary rights of occupancy with mere use and
occupation as per Art. 2. Non-natives who had acquired land in
disrespect of the 1927 Ordinance and Mandate Agreement were given
certificates of occupancy over the lands they acquired illegally. Even
though this document was a lease of 99 years during which the holder
paid rents to the government, it was regarded by economic operators as
documents of title (Fisiy, 1992). The colonial governor was able to use
his powers over land to legitimately grant land concession to planters as
was seen with the creation of PAMOL Ndian in 1920, a subsidiary of
UNILEVER, and the creation of CDC in 1946/47 after the Ex-enemy
Lands (Cameroon Ordinance) by 1946 incorporated German plantations
into the Commonwealth Development Corporation (Cameroon
Ordinance No. 38 of 1946)5.
The story was not very different in French Cameroun from 1914-960.
French colonial administration issued in 1932 a Décret giving large land
concessions to industrialists who needed land for a particular purpose
and a right to register such with the authorisation of the district land
board (the forerunner of today’s Land Consultative Board). They also
issued another Decree on 12th January 1938 converting all native lands
as terre vaccante et sans maître appartennant au territoire6. These
became domanine lands formalising the French grants of such lands to
planters especially around Njombe and Penja, with the creation of SPNP
(Société des Plantations de Njombe Penja) and SBM (Société des
Banannes de Mbome) that subsequently through government tender
became the property of PHP.
5 Cameroon Ordinance No. 38 of 1946 vested all the lands acquired from German
planters as Enemy Property in the hands of the Governor of Nigeria who was to declare them native lands.
6 Land without masters belonging to the colonial authority
48 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
4.1.3. Post-colonial period
At independence, three land tenure laws tailored after the German
Kronland Act of 1896 and French 1921 Land tenure laws, (Ordinance
No. 74–1 of 6th July 1974,7 Ordinance No. 74–2 of 6th July 19748 and
Ordinance No. 74–3 of 6th July 19749, supplemented in 1976 with
three decrees of application)10 were passed. They form the basic laws
on land tenure in Cameroon. The justifications for these laws are
rooted in the:
i) third Five-Year Development Plan (1971-76) that intended to
create bourgeois planteur, and the Operation Green
Revolution in 1973;
ii) desire to harmonise several land laws, with the intention to
free the lands from archaic patriarchal tenure laws, and
iii) need to maximize land use through a more rational system of
allocation; all in accordance with the spirit of article 22 of the
Federal Constitution 1972 of Cameroon11.
Cameroon Land Ordinances recognise three different types of land
which are regulated differently. These are national12, state13 and private
7 To Establish Rules Governing Land Tenure 8 To Establish Rules Governing State Lands 9 To Establish procedure Governing expropriation of lands for public purpose, that has been repealed by Law No. 85/09 of 4/7/1985 to lay down the procedure governing expropriation for public purpose and the conditions for compensation. 10 Decree No. 76/165 of 27th April 1976 to establish conditions for obtaining land certificates as amended by Decree No. 2005/048 of 18th December 2005; Decree No. 76/166 of 27th April 1976 to establish the terms and conditions of management of national lands and Decree No. 76/167 of 27th April 1976 to establish conditions of management of private property of the State. 11 Article 22 12 All lands not classified as public or private property of the State and lands not under private property rights (section 14 Ord. No 74-1/74); it includes all lands that have failed to meet requirements of sections 4,5and 6 of Ord. No. 74-1/74 and so have been incorporated as national lands; all lands under customary tenure with or without effective occupation-(section 15 Ord. No 74-1/74). 13 All lands not held under private land title and that is not national land. This is divided into private real property of the State (see sections 10 and 11 of Ordinance No. 74-2/74) and all public property of the State which are property which by nature or intended purpose is set apart either for the direct use of the public or private services. This can be natural (section 3 Ord. No 74-2/74) or artificial (sections 4 and 5 Ord. No. 74-2/74).
HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF LAND GOVERNANCE 49
lands14. Customary communities however classify land differently,
regrouping it mostly into village and family land. Whatever the case, and
by law, all Cameroonian customary communities living on national land,
no matter how long they have lived on and exploited the land without
formal titles, have no secured tenure. They are vulnerable to both
internal and external dynamics of LSLAs. When these users are evicted
or displaced, they can only be compensated for the developments on
the land and not for the land itself15. Long use, as Schneider (2011:4)
observed, does not attribute ownership to users and in Cameroon the
rights of these users over such land lapsed 10 or 15 years after 1974
land laws were passed (section 14 (3) Ordinance No. 74-1/74) and so
they are now tenants at sufferance16.
Most lands in Cameroon are untitled land held under customary tenure
and controlled by traditional authorities. It is this land that has been
converted into national land by sections 14 and 15 of Ordinance No.
74-1 of 6th July 1974 and placed under the control of the Land
Consultative Boards (LCB) at each sub-division. The LCBs are presided
over by Divisional Officers (DOs) and customary communities are
represented by the chiefs (as mere members) who prior to the 1974
laws were former controllers and managers17. The coming of the 1974
land laws actually eroded rather than protected community land rights.
The 1974 Land Ordinances recognized the State as guardian of all
unregistered land with sweeping powers to administer land in the best
way possible to advance its political and socio-economic agenda18.
Local chiefs and community members all lost their control and rights
over land with the introduction of the government-issued land certificate
backed by law as the sole evidence of land ownership19.
14 All private titled land; that is land with land certificates which are equivalent to freehold lands. (see section 2 of Ord. No.74-1/74) 15 Interviewed on19/11/14 and also interview of Sub- Divisional Officer MINAGRI 29/10/14 16This is because their rights over these lands have lapsed so they are users of these lands only because government largesse so allows them 17 See Section 16 Ordinance No. 74-1/74 and sections 12 and 13 Decree no. 76/166/76). 18 See Section 1(2) of Ordinance No. 74-1/74 19 See Art 1(1) Decree No. 76/165/76)
50 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Most national land is untitled and held under the conflicting jurisdiction
of customary communities and local administration, as also observed in
the localities under study. The notion of national land allows the
government to use its executive powers to acquire whatever chunk of
land it so desires and may decide to lease the land to whomsoever,
including itself or its agency, without being held to account (Schneider,
2011:3; Mope 2011) by affected communities.
The liberalization period falls within the period after independence. Its
uniqueness stemmed from the fact that it is driven by economic
liberation that opens the country to many foreign investors beyond
those from its former colonial powers of Germany, Britain and France.
New investors from the United States, China and other Asian countries
emerged in plantation agriculture. This avalanche of capitalist interests
can also be attributed to major global developments such as
globalization, climate change and clean energy, and economic and
global food crises, particularly in poor countries. The characteristic of
this period is that it raised the tempo and competition for land more
than ever before, with obvious consequences on women’s security on
the land.
4.2. The evolution of women’s land rights in Cameroon The current double-edged burden of women’s land rights is tied to the
history of women’s land rights. As discussed in other sections of this
work, the evolution of land ownership in Cameroon has shaped the
State’s construction of land ownership, rights over land, and the
different processes of land allocation, acquisition and access. In simple
terms, land moved from being a deity and communal property in the
pre-colonial times to a post-colonial commodity with possibilities of
individual purchase and ownership.
With the 1974 Ordinances and 1976 Decrees of application,
Cameroonian authorities effectively completed the land
commodification process initiated by the Germans. At the same time,
through Decree No. 76/165/76 the State ensured that the ‘ability-to-
pay’ became the sole determinant of access to land in the country. With
this process of registration, the situation of the rural woman became
HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF LAND GOVERNANCE 51
more complicated as many of them who depended on village or family
land became landless and dispossessed of the farming spaces. The
commons was no longer available for all to exploit according to their
needs. Most land under the women’s control are untitled and under
customary tenancy (national land). Long use without a land certificate
does not attribute them ownership even if they can prove occupation
through a long history and ancestry. While this may be also true for
men, their livelihood is not tied to land to the same degree as women.
The Cameroonian state’s actions in this regard were mainly ideological
and had nothing to do with making access to land more equitable for
all, especially women. Njoh (1996, 417) highlights the ideological
rationale for the land reforms in the following words: “the reforms
constitute an ideological buttress designed to perpetuate the historical
legacy which links private property to the private ownership of the
means of production characteristic of capitalism…”. Implementation
and compliance with the country’s land law however have been slow as
until now, only few land titles have been issued since the law was
enacted. Yanou et al. (2012) that noted from 1980 to 2010, just 11.7%
of the 12,224 applicants for land certificates in Anglophone Cameroon
were women. Those who were actually awarded land certificates were
11,796 with 9.6% being women. Women, therefore, remain the least
capable of complying with the law. Their inability to comply results from
several factors, including the fact that they face more time, financial
and other resource constraints than men (Njoh, 2012).
The individualization, commoditization and titling of land places the
rural women in a dire situation, especially with competition for land
from cash crops, graziers (Fissiy, 1992) and corporate plantations. The
many land deals which in this regard are done without effective
participation of rural women has brought in changes in the political
economy of their households (Goheen 1976, 73). The result is new land
ownership pattern that has forced women to renegotiate their land
access with not only their husbands and male kins as it was hitherto
52 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
done but with the private corporations and governments, as is the case
with PHP20 and other villages.
4.3. Women, land ownership and LSLAs in Cameroon The question of who is the primary owner of land in Cameroon is
contentious (Fonjong et al., 2012) as the land statutes do not expressly
provide that the State is the owner of all lands in Cameroon. However, It
has been implied by virtue of section 1(2) of Ordinance No. 74-1 of
6thJuly 1974 (to establish rules governing land tenure) that: “…the State
shall be the guardian of all lands...” without more. It is this provision
that has prompted many, especially civil administrators, to believe that
all lands in Cameroon belong to the State21. In the customary set-up,
land is collectively owned by the community or family although
individuals are allowed to use lands allocated to them according to their
needs in perpetuity (Fonjong et al., 2013). This notwithstanding,
Sections 14 and 15 of Ordinance No. 74-1 of 6th July 1974 stipulate
that all lands under customary tenure without land certificate are
national lands, no matter the investment and length of time that one
might have put on it. This is especially so as the sole document to prove
ownership of land by any legal person is the land certificate.
Recent studies (Yanou, 2012 and Fonjong et al., 2013) have shown
that less than 15 % of Cameroonians possess land certificates on the
land which they live on or exploit. This is also the case in the three
administrative areas under investigation. As such, all land rights on
national land are derived from the State and so all who want to use it
must make a formal request to the State which sees itself as the
legitimate owner of these lands22. It implies that customary
communities, including women who are in the majority, have only user
rights over the land which they might have been using for decades. The
situation is more complicated for women who unlike men are further
20Interviews with MINPROFF Mungo and the Director of PHP. 21Views expressed by the Senior Civil Administrator for Ndian in an interview conducted on 4th April 2014 and the local adminstrator for Njombe-Penja interviewed on October 29th 2014. 22 These views were also expressed by the Divisional Delegate for Agriculture Mungo interviewed 19/11/14) and Divisional officer, Njombe-Penja, and Divisional Delegate for Land tenure and State Property interviewed 19/11/14.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF LAND GOVERNANCE 53
denied customary rights over land. The women as part of the customary
community have only user rights. Most of the women in Mungo, Ndian
and Kupe Manenguba Divisions fall within this vulnerable category.
They like all community members without private ownership of land
certificate are vulnerable because the State at any one moment could
request this land occupied by women and other community members
under Section 1(2) Ordinance No. 74-1 6th April 1974) for its socio-
economic-political agenda. In this case, women and other community
members on the land can only ask and receive compensation for crops
on the land. This is exactly what happened when the State created the
Organisation Cameroonaise de Banane (OCB) plantation which was
later sold to PHP in the Njombe-Penja area of the Mungo Division.
In summary, most rural women (and even men) in Cameroon, work on
national land without security of tenure. The difference is that women
more than men suffer double jeopardy. They are protected neither by
statutes nor custom and can only claim compensation for crops on such
land when displaced. The issue here is that rural women and
communities affected by LSLAs do not see themselves as mere users of
the land. They believe that village land belongs to the entire community
to be managed by the chief and not government. Chiefs also see their
powers over land compromised by administrative officials seen by the
law as land managers of national land. It is this conflict of interest
between chiefs, local administrators on the one hand, and customary
and statutory law on the other that creates opportunities for conflicts of
interest and the lack of transparency in LSLAs.
4.3.1. Women, LSLAs and plantation agriculture in Cameroon
The introduction of plantation agriculture during the colonial period in
Africa had significant consequences for gender roles and relations both
within and without the capitalist milieu. Plantation labor has offered
women and even men freedom from existing patriarchal control in their
community and home and to build autonomous existence. On the other
hand, it also created a new form of patriarchal control with female
plantation workers becoming subordinated to male dominated
managerial controls in the labor force (Konings, 2012).
54 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Plantation agriculture like other capitalist enterprises in the colonial
period recruited male labor almost exclusively for a length of time
(Konings, 2012). This, they explained, was because the colonial gender
discourse tended to describe paid labor outside the home as being
masculine and instituted the men as the breadwinners and women as
dependent housewives (Konings, 2012). As a result, colonial officials
and employers tended to support male resistance to female migration
and wage employment because it was likely to undermine the men’s
control over women’s vital productive and reproductive labor (Obbo,
1980; Moore, 1988; Gordon, 1996; Konings, 2012).
Despite this resistance, there has been a demand for female labor on
plantation agriculture throughout the world (Kurian, 1982), even during
the colonial rule. The rationale behind this was the managerial belief
that, compared to men, women are naturally more suited to performing
certain tasks since they have nimble fingers, are docile, and cheaper
(Elson and Parson, 1984; Konings, 2012). Women are employed mostly
in packing houses as de flowerers, de-handers, cauterizers, weighers,
pluckers, labelers and packers. Plantation agriculture as Konings
(2012) notes, enables women to escape from the control of male elders
in their local communities and build up a relatively autonomous
existence. However, it subordinates them to a new form of patriarchal
control; supervisory and management positions are mostly given to
men. This is based on the socialization phenomenon that employees
will see male authority as vital for supervision (Anker & Hein, 1986;
Ong, 1987). It also offers the women relatively low rewards for their
hard labor. This tedious work demands less skill and is seasonal, with
little prospect of training (Ong, 1987; Enloe, 1981), leaving women with
fewer training and promotion possibilities.
Plantation agriculture is not labor intensive and due to competition for
jobs, especially good jobs; women are less likely than men to be
employed. In instances where they gain employment, their ability to
negotiate fair wages is limited (Oxfam, 2013; Nkoli et al., 2004). In
other cases, the physical nature of the work excludes women
altogether; for example, sugar cane plantations in Africa may employ
HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF LAND GOVERNANCE 55
women only for planting, weeding and on rare occasions to drive
tractors (Nkoli et al., 2004).
Female workers in plantation agriculture are usually inclined to identify
themselves as “mothers”, wives and daughters rather than workers
(Konings, 2012) though it cannot be denied that their domestic
responsibilities and family attachment may form an obstacle to their
participation. Mostly young and unmarried women are employed into
the plantations to avoid the cost of maintaining services for married and
older women such as maternity, child care and family commitments,
which will certainly affect productivity and profitability (Enloe, 1989;
Sticher, 1990; Nkoli et al., 2004).
The case of the Tole Tea Estate, however, is different. A majority of Tole
female tea pluckers do not have husbands and are heads of
households; and most are dependent on their income from wage work
(Konings, 2012). Even married female pluckers cannot depend on their
husbands’ wage income because male workers rarely make any
substantial contribution to the family’s upkeep though considered
breadwinners. Female workers in this plantation are relatively old (60%
are above 35 years old). Many are unmarried (68%), with a minority
married (Konings, 2012). However, unlike what Enloe and Sticher
(1989 and 1990) believe about plantation employment and married
women, Tole Tea Estate protects the interest of married women and
nursing mothers.
Female pluckers in this estate have been accustomed to defending
their occupational interests independently when they perceive that their
trade union is unresponsive to their demands (Ibid). These women have
been engaged in numerous collective and informal actions to challenge
their control and exploitation from management (Ibid). Though they
might not have achieved their objectives, their efforts should not be
judged solely in terms of pay and conditions of work but conceived as
important opportunities for raising women’s capacities for self-
organization and self-confidence.
56 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
The historical overview of LSLAs suggests that the evolution of land
legislation in Cameroon has produced land laws that deprive indigenous
communities from playing a decisive role in the management of their
land. This has produced a new form of land-people relationship where
companies own the land and the natives, particularly women, have
become the wage laborers. The post-colonial dispensation has not done
much to impact on women’s exclusion from land management as was
the case in the colonial days. This has put women in a vulnerable
situation, particularly with the advent of LSLAs and individualization of
land ownership. Changes in land tenure systems have not kept pace
with the evolutions in women’s triple roles. As a result women have
been more heavily affected by LSLAs than men.
Chapter 5
Trends and Dynamics in Large-Scale Land Acquisition in Cameroon
Large-scale acquisition of land is not new in Cameroon; it dates as far
back as the colonial period. Today, most large-scale lands are acquired
for mining, cotton, sugar cane, food/export crops and timber
exploitation. The companies involved have been both national and
foreign. The main focus of attention in this study has been on the
acquisition of land for agricultural production, food and agro fuels.
5.1. An overview of the trends and dynamics One remarkable event of the post-colonial State in Cameroon’s
economy has been the promotion of agro-industrial enterprises, more
specifically enterprises based on plantation agriculture. This sector
became one of the pillars of the government’s agricultural policies
(Courade, 1983, 1984; Konings, 1993). After independence, Cameroon
continued the colonial economic legacy by prioritizing the development
of agriculture in its early five-year development plans (Fonjong, 2004,
14). The Germans introduced cocoa and rubber in 1905 and coffee in
the South West Region and by 1947 the Cameroon Development
Corporation took over the German plantation (Konings, 1998). Konings
(1993) reveals that the vast majority of plantation-based agro-industrial
enterprises were either wholly or partially owned by the State. According
to Ndongko (1975), multinational corporations at the time were
apparently quite reluctant to invest in plantation production in spite of
the existence of a liberal investment code in Cameroon. Others
58 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
(Courade, 1984, 39 and Dessaiane and Verre, 1986, 111) attributed
this lack of interest by private investors at the time not to the apparent
State monopoly in the sector but more to bureaucratic constraints.
Government investment in the agro-industrial sector in Cameroon
however seems to have been seriously threatened by the decrease in
the prices of agricultural products and the depreciation of the dollar in
the 80s (Korner, 1988). The State also had to turn to high internal
borrowing and international assistance to cover the cost of expansion of
these agro-industrial sectors. During the sixth Five-Year Development
Plan (1986-1991), the government faced a serious economic crisis and
decided with influence from international donors to take some austerity
measures to overcome the crisis (Korner, 1988). One of these
measures was the restructuring in 1987 and the privatization of some
State-owned companies geared towards closing non-viable companies
and selling the viable ones to foreign and private investors. The
Organisation Camerounaise de la Banane (OCB) for example, was taken
over by two multinationals: Campagnie Fruitière (FI) and Del Monte.
CDC’s management in November 1987 entrusted Del Monte with co-
managing the development of 1200 hectares of banana plantation in
the Tiko plains (Koning, 1993).
The government also promoted a new strategy of agricultural
modernization. It encouraged the setting up of private middle-sized
plantations called Exploitation Agricole de Moyenne Importance (EAMIs)
(Konings, 1993) in a bid to capture an intermediate position between
peasant farms and plantations. This was again emphasized in 1984 by
President Biya during the agro-pastoral show in Bamenda. This EAMI
program was facilitated by the government through the supply of
sufficient land, free extension services and special credit facilities
(Konings, 1993). The liberalization of the plantation sector and the
enforcement for more implementation of 1974 Land Ordinance in
1989, as Fisiy (1986) explains enable elites to acquire and register
extensive land in rural areas at the expense of the peasantry and
women. This thus marked the beginning of the race for large-scale land
acquisition in the country, with diverse ramifications on women and
other vulnerable groups.
TRENDS & DYNAMICS IN LSLA IN CAMEROON 59
LSLA has also provoked public concern due to the questionable ethics
of exporting agricultural commodities from food insecure countries.
However, agricultural investments should not be seen in isolation from
wider commercial pressures on lands previously seen as “marginal”.
The Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI, 2009) has warned that new
markets in carbon, such as those proposed under REDD initiatives, are
likely to lead to large-scale disenfranchisement of forest-dwellers,
driven by private sector and government capture of forests for their
carbon sequestration value. Challenges and opportunities in advancing
forest tenure reform the wider trend of commoditization of
environmental services, giving a market value to standing biomass
resources that were not previously subject to rent or profit-seeking
behavior. In addition, investors’ interest in land for tourism, mineral
extraction and timber are reported by ILC members as significant
drivers at the local level of investor interest in land.
Capitalist influence has been very predominant and of great concern
especially in Cameroon, in the process of dispossessing ethnic land
(Mbembe, 1996). At the beginning of colonial installation in Cameroon,
the German administration, by 1886, legally eliminated all the
customary legal systems regulating land (Rudin, 1938). This created a
situation in coastal areas like Limbe and Kribi where the local
communities were irremediably deprived of their historical land rights
and, in some cases, evicted from their land (Oyon et al., 2004; Oyono,
2013). Consequently, all of Cameroon’s coastal land was annexed to
the German Crown (Mveng, 1985). With the defeat of the Germans
during the First World War the imposition of a French-British joint
mandate systematically augmented the disappearance of collective
property, previously protected by a customary legal system. Huge units
of customary land became crown or colonial land (Oyono, 2013). After
independence, all the legal instruments relating to land governance
simply affirmed the hegemony of the state over land and forest, in a
legal unilateralism. The primordial determinant of these changes in land
ownership was highly political, intended for occupation and territorial
annexation, with legal and total domination as the key driving forces
(Oyono, 2005; Oyono, 2013). By distributing African countries among
western powers, the Berlin Conference (1884-85) is, arguably,
60 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
considered as the first founding framework of the dispossession of
customary land in the country (Oyono, 2013).
During German presence in Cameroon, a series of decrees was issued
legalizing the colonial empire’s property claims on customary lands and
forests, which according to them were lands without masters (Rudin,
1938; Oyono, 2013). The Decrees were some of the early tools used by
the Germans as legal instruments for occupying and controlling land in
Cameroon (Oyono, 2013). Oyono (2005) further notes that the primary
objective of these decrees was to ensure that there was maximum
concentration of land in the hands of the German Crown and European
private agro-industrial companies. The three decrees (1893, 1900 and
1913) thus set into motion the historical process of the dispossession
of large-scale customary land in coastal Cameroon (Schanz, 1914;
Oyono, 2013). The establishment of land concessions for agricultural
purposes was an effective way that the German colonial administration
used to grab customary lands and forests (Mbembe, 1996; Oyono,
2005; Oyono, 2013). In the 1890s the Germans launched the process
of creating large agro-industrial plantations with the creation of West &
Sudkamerun Gesellschaft and the Westafrikanische Pflanungsgesell-
shaft Victoria, respectively in 1894 and 1896 (Rudin, 1938; Oyono,
2013). Vast plantations of rubber, tea, cocoa, banana and oil palm
spread throughout coastal Cameroon, and elsewhere in the hinterland,
installed on customary land by the two German companies (Rudin,
1938; Etoga, 1971; Oyono, 2013).
Colonial rule thus ushered in with the cultivation of cocoa, coffee,
banana and rubber for export. These were grown on plantations using
external inputs and modern farming technology. Export crops thus
became the focus of national agricultural production and research even
after independence. In 1972, the Cameroon Green Revolution was
launched in Buea. The government encouraged mono-cropping and the
use of chemical inputs, subsidizing up to 65% and 100% of the cost of
fertilizer and pesticides, respectively. With government subsidies and
credit, many farmers shifted toward producing export crops and became
heavily dependent on external inputs (http://nature.berkeley.
edu/~miguel-alt/sane/monograph/CAMEROON.htm).
TRENDS & DYNAMICS IN LSLA IN CAMEROON 61
The plantation system which has been in operation in Cameroon for
over 130 years is an indication that the system is an important partner
in the development endeavors of the country. This explains why the
contribution of this socio-economic institution and its spatial influence
in the development process of Cameroon in particular is high. Banana,
rubber and oil palm grow well only in tropical areas where climate is
suitable. The high production explains the sustained interest of wealthy
institutions on these lands with the current justification for increased
agricultural output against the background of world food crisis. While
private financing for plantations in many countries seems to have
decreased, multilateral and bilateral financial institutions have become
the main sources of investment capital for plantations in Cameroon as
illustrated by the various companies operating in the territory.
Since 1884, the Cameroon territory has been an arena of large
plantations which after independence have continuously received
encouragement from the Cameroon government. Today, the principal
agro-industrial companies in the South West Region are PAMOL, a
former affiliate of Unilever of London, the largest agro-industrial
company in the world, Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) which
inherited German plantations that were relinquished to the British in
1914 and some small, privately-owned indigenous estates and PHP in
the Littoral that inherited banana production from the defunct OCB that
was managed by Cameroon, SUSUCAM, SOCAPALM in the Centre, and
SODECOTON in the Northern Regions (Figure 1). The management of
the colonial-based companies is today in the hands of the government
while those linked to the current wave of large-scale land deals like tea,
palm and banana estates in the North West, South West, West, Littoral
and South Regions are privately driven by both national and foreign-
based companies.
62 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Map 3: Spatial distribution of large-scale mining and plantation
agriculture zones in Cameroon.
Cameroon has mineral deposits like the Mobilong diamond deposit in
the East Region. In January 2014, the Project to Strengthen Mining
Sector Capacity (PRECASEM), overseen by the Cameroonian Ministry of
Mining and co-financed by the State of Cameroon and the World Bank,
began an “airborne geophysical survey” operation in six of Cameroon’s
TRENDS & DYNAMICS IN LSLA IN CAMEROON 63
ten regions (North, Adamawa, West, East, South West and Centre)
(Business in Cameroon, 2014). Legend Mining announced in 2011 that
its 90% subsidiary Camina SA acquired the Tapare Gold Project from
Cameroon General Mining SA. The Tapare gold project is located
300km east of the Cameroon capital Yaounde and lies north of the
town of Batouri.
The project comprises a single granted exploration permit covering an
area of approximately 1,000km2. Exploration started in 2006. Other
companies are Cameroon Mines Ltd in Betare Oya, Bimbia Ore Mining
among others (http://www.mbendi.com/company/capam-company-ltd-
1469297).
Map 3 illustrates the spatial distribution of mining and plantation
agriculture zones in Cameroon. From all indications, the coastal area
covered by three administrative regions (South West, Littoral and South)
contain the bulk of agro-plantations due to early colonial impact as
these regions had access to the exterior through the Gulf of Guinea.
More remote plantation zones have been those of recent acquisitions
like the Ndawara Tea Estates in the North West and West (Djuttisa) and
palms in Ndian and Kupe Muanenguba Divisions of the South West.
Cotton, groundnut and sugarcane estates respectively in the North and
Centre Regions have been in existence for several decades (Table 1).
Studies indicate that older investors such as Pamol, CDC, SOCAPALM
and SOSUCAM have been expanding their area of cultivation even
against the background of increasing population and land scarcity for
local food crop production.
5.2. Scale of large-scale land deals In 2013, over 50% of verified large-scale land deals in Africa were
reported in Ethiopia, Sudan, Madagascar, Tanzania, Mozambique and
Cameroon (Grid-Arendal, 2013). The present wave of large-scale land
acquisition in the 21st Century is unprecedented, with companies
searching and acquiring pieces of national lands in the North, East,
Littoral, South West, North West, and West Regions. The scale of the
concessions is enormous and disquieting given the fact that such deals
are contracted by the government in complicity with elites who ignore
64 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
communal rights to the lands they consider to be idle. Unfortunately,
the rural population’s livelihood depends on these very lands for
farming, pastoral activity, gathering of NTFPs, and hunting. When these
affected people are deprived of what they consider as livelihood
sources, the state of the commons and rural sustainability becomes
questionable.
Table 4: The profileof some land deals in Cameroon Company Project
Year Product Area(ha)/
output tons)
Localities/ Region
Former land use*
Origin of Investor
AGRICULTURE SG-SOC 2013
Palms 19,000 South West Forest,
farming, NTFPs, hunting
USA
CARGILL 2012 Cocoa 50,000 USA Ndawara 2002 Tea 2000 North West Forest and
farmland Cameroon National
CHINA RUBBER 2008 Rubber 40,000 Ocean Division
Mainly Forest
Chinese
PHP 1983\84 Banana 6,000 Littoral/South West
OCB France
HEVECAM 1975 Rubber 59,400 South Forest and fallow
SODECOTON** 1974, 2013
Cotton 150,000 North Cameroon
SOCAPALM 1963 Palms, rubber
78,329 Littoral Mainly forest
*France, Belgium, Singapore
CDC 1947 Palms, Banana, Rubber
42,000 South West Settlement and forest
Cameroon
MINING*** IMIC 2014 Iron ore 807
million tons
South Region (Mbalam)
Cameroon Aluminia (CAL)
2012 Bauxite 8.5 million tons
Ngouandal (miniMartarp)
Dubai (UAR)
Legend Mining 2011 Gold 1,000 km2
Eastern region
African Aura 2007 Gold 987 km2 Ntem C&K Mining Inc
2005 Diamond 416 million carats
East (Yokadouma)
South Korea
Geovic Mining Corporation
1995 Cobalt 0.2 million tons
Eastern Region
Toronto (Canada)
Sources: Bamenjo J, 2013. *Richard, M., 2013. **Business in Cameroon, 2014. ***Cameroon, the Country, 2014 at www.kpmg.com/mining, ****http://www.unafas.org.uk/files/Mining%20in%20Cameroon%20source%20book.pdf, CIFOR at cifor.org/China-Africa
TRENDS & DYNAMICS IN LSLA IN CAMEROON 65
The scale of land leased as well as the illegitimate arrangements that
proceed thereof has been a cause for concern. Between 1.6 and 2
million hectares of land are requested for sugar cane, banana, palm oil,
rubber, rice and even for mineral exploitation. According to Bamenjo
(2013), large territories that belong to local communities are either
earmarked or have been leased as revealed in Table 1. The bewildered
rural populations are deprived of their livelihood sources which have
been their common property for several generations. In this light,
villages like Bagyeli in Kolombo lost their access to the forest because
of SOCAPALM in Kienke in the South Region; Fabe lost land for
nurseries to SG-SOC in Mundemba South West Region; the population
of Nkoteng, Centre Region, was reduced to a 40 hectare land resulting
from expanding SOSUCAM plantations while youths in Dibombari and
Bonalea were rendered inactive due to expansion by SOCAPALM in the
Littoral (Bamenjo, 2013). Figures 2 and 3 illustrate sites of large-scale
agriculture in the South West and Littoral Regions of Cameroon which
constitute the focus zones in the present study.
After 2005, the dynamics of large-scale land acquisitions have changed.
National actors are increasingly involved, the sectors are diversified
beyond agriculture to include mining, and all the ten political regions
are implicated. Tchinda and Foka (2011) further note that companies
that acquired land prior to 2005 were not required to carry out
environmental and socio-economic impact assessment (ESIA) as is the
case after the 2005 Prime Ministerial Decree that made ESIA
mandatory.
From this chapter, one observes that land acquired during LSLAs is put
into multiple uses and investments. This is the case with plantation
agriculture for agricultural investment, mineral exploitation, and other
development projects. No matter the pace and usage for which land is
acquired, the process leads to changes in land use which have
implications on those already on the land. It is therefore the mechanism
and processes of acquisition that lead to gender differential effects,
particularly on women.
Chapter 6
Processes, Mechanisms and Women in Large-scale Land Acquisitions
Both formal and informal processes and mechanisms are employed by
actors involved in LSLAs in Cameroon. However, field investigation
reveals that both processes and mechanisms do not involve the
participation of women although they have historically depended on the
land for livelihood.
6.1. Formal processes and mechanisms These are processes that have been defined by law and other
administrative practices. While these processes on face value may be
gender and community neutral, they end up marginalizing and
neglecting vulnerable communities and women during implementation.
Generally, formal processes involve large-scale land grants allocated to
investors through leases. The allocation of land is either on the
recommendation of the Land Consultative Boards when on national
land or Site Board Commissions if on State lands. Other formal
processes of acquiring land include government tenders as in the case
of Plantation de Haut Penja (PHP) or through multiple leases between
investors and private individuals (PHP) or outright sales of private lands
by private individuals (PHP in Mungo).
Processes, Mechanisms & Women in LSLAs 67
6.1.1. Short and long term leases
The most dominant method of acquisition of large-scale land in
Cameroon is through land grants, lease or assignment under prescribed
conditions. By Sect. 17 (1) of Ordinance No. 74-1/74), any juristic
person wishing to carry out development in tandem with the State’s
socio-economic development must apply to the LCB23 following the
procedure spelled out in Sect. 4-8 of Decree No. 76/166 of 27th April
1976 for temporary leases (five years) for exploitation of national
lands24. Land within 50 hectares or less can be granted by the Minister
of Lands on recommendation of the LCB. All grants above 50 hectares
require the approval of the President of the Republic. The CDC for
example obtained allocation by way of a lease of 2000 hectares of
national land north of the Southern Bakundu Forest Reserve for the
expansion of its Malende Rubber Estate on 19th October 1982.
6.1.2. Land concessions
Concessions are granted over national land upon expiration of the five-
year temporary grant. In this case, the temporary grant may be
converted into absolute grant or long lease of 99 years in case of a
foreigner25, on recommendation of the LCB. The LCB does an
assessment of the development on the land and draws up a report
specifying the level of investment carried out on the land to the Senior
Divisional Officer (SDO26). The SDO may propose that an absolute grant
be awarded based on development so far carried out following the
conditions of the grant. The grantee must have applied for the renewal
23 The LCB is a quasi-judicial organ that is presided over by the divisional officer at each sub-division. 24 The applicant is required to apply in triplicates using appropriate form in which is included full bio data, articles of association, a power of attorney if acting through an agent, four copies of sketch map of the land, certified copies of birth and marital certificates, a stage-by-stage development program of the supposed project. This application that is transmitted to the appropriate lands Service shall then be scrutinized by all the concerned government departments for their opinion which shall be forwarded to the LCB which after examination shall make its recommendations to the Minister of lands for allocation of temporary grant below 50 ha or to the Head of State if above 50ha. 25 Section 10(3) of Decree No. 76/166 of 27th April 1976 26 The SDO is the Administrative head of Division
68 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
of the grant six months before its expiry otherwise the grant will lapse27.
PAMOL has obtained additional 12 hectares of land in Lobe and 1000
hectares in Ekondo Nene and Mosongi Sele28 following this process.
Local resistance forced SG-SOC to regularize an earlier deal concluded
in the 2009 land deal by a Presidential Decree of November 2013. The
Decree granted the company temporal grant over about 19,000
hectares29, for a period of three years. This means that SG-SOC has
been exploiting the land illegally for 3-4 years. Even with the Decree,
questions are still being raised as to whether due process preceded this
decree as some of the concession falls within conservation areas, or
land of villages not mentioned in the decree30. There are even
conflicting views among NGOs, community leaders and other
stakeholders as to whether a prior proper environmental socio-cultural
impact assessment was ever carried out as required by law31.
6.1.3. Allocations of state lands
The allocations over the private property of the State may be by
allotment, leasehold to private individuals or allotment of freeholds to
companies. This can be done as Ordinary leases. The government may
grant ordinary lease of 18 years over private property of the State to
interested private juristic persons. This is granted by the Minister in
charge of Land as per Sections 16-22 of Decree No. 76/167 of 27th
April 1976, upon the recommendation of the local SBC. The grantee is
expected to pay rents in advance which are subject to revision. On the
other hand, Emphyteutic lease is granted for durations within 18-99
years to interested applicants in line with Sections 23-26 of Decree No.
76/167 of 27th April 1976. The grantee is required to adhere to the
terms of the grant. As specified in the grant, such grantees must
improve on the property by way of development within a specified
27The procedures are as in sections 9-11 Decree No. 76/166 of 27th April 1976. 28 Interview GM PAMOL 9/3/15 29 The decree attributed13,195hectaresintheNguti Sub Division, in the Division of Kupe- Muanenguba;Decreeno.2013/417 of 25th November, 2013attributes1,264 hectares in Toko Sub Division, in Ndian Division 30 Interviews on 12/2/15 with the SDO of Kupe Manenguba 31 Interviews of General Manager of PAMOL on 9/3/15,; SEFE on 12/2/15 and Chief of Talangaye 25/5/15.
Processes, Mechanisms & Women in LSLAs 69
period and may be permitted to mortgage or assign their rights over the
State land.
6.1.4. Allotment as contribution to the capital of the companies
As the State’s contributions or expansion of the capital of a company, it
can donate part of the private property of the State as per Sect. 12 of
Decree No. 76/167 of 27th April 1976. Such contribution of fixed asset
shall be reincorporated in the private property of the State in case of
bankruptcy, winding up or liquidation. A typical example of this is
Decree No. 77/456 of 4th November 1977 granting 16, 500 hectares of
private real property of State land in Kompina in the Mungo Division to
CDC for the cultivation of rubber as part of the State’s contribution to
the capital of CDC. This has subsequently been converted into a land
certificate32 and therefore becomes the freehold land of the CDC.
6.1.5. Assignment to public bodies
It involves the transfer of private property of the State to a public body
through a Decree upon recommendation of the SBC after approval by
the town planning officials. Such grants are not available to private
juristic persons but only to government organs/departments. This was
the mode of land grants to some of the development projects set up in
the late 1970s and early 80s to boost the Operation Green Revolution.
Such grants include the lands assigned to Upper Noun Valley
Development Authority (UNVDA) and Wum Area Development Authority
(WADA). The assigned lands must be used for the sole purpose
requested by the public body. The assignee is supposed to use the land
within three years of grant under pain of it being withdrawn upon
recommendation of the Minister in charge of lands33.
6.1.6. Land purchase
This is carried out mostly by elites and business persons for commercial
agriculture. Konings 1998, 126-130 provided examples of large-scale
land purchases around Ndian Division by individuals (mostly chiefs,
32 See land certificate No. 9653 of Mungo Division Volume 45 folio 53 33 See section 4(2) Decree No. 76/167 of 27th April 1976
70 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
elites, civil servants and businessmen) of up to 100ha34. Such lands
become that of the owner upon formal registration35. Other examples of
land purchase include recent acquisitions by PHP from locals of
Njombe–Penja for expansion36 and cocoa, palm and rubber plantations
of migrants, spread across the study area.
6.1.7. Statutory companies
Although not a recognized form of land acquisition by the 1974 tenure
laws, history has shown that the largest parastatal in Cameroon was
created through statute. For example, the CDC was born out of a lease
created as a statutory corporation sui generis (it is a mixture of statute,
expropriation and lease). Konings (1993, 36-39) observed that the
most remarkable effect of German rule in Cameroon (1884-1914) was
the establishment of large-scale private agricultural plantations
covering some 300,000 acres of 58 estates acquired mainly through
appropriation and expropriation. The Nigerian Legislative Council of
December 1946 passed the Cameroon Development Corporation
Ordinance No. 39 of 1946 actually created CDC out of ex-enemy’
property following the defeat of Germany in WWI. About 100,000
hectares of such land were leased to CDC to cultivate rubber, banana,
and oil palm and until recently, tea for 60 years renewable, at the
corporation’s option. The land lease is now contentious (ACHPR
Communication 260/02 Bakweri Land Claims Committee) as the
natives claim that these lands be returned to them. This is because
according to them not only was the method of land acquisition by the
Germans faulty (Rudin, 1938; Clarence-Smith, 1989; Fisiy, 1992), but
also that the 60 year lease has long expired.
6.1.8. Acquisitions through privatization
Sometimes LSLAs are the result of privatization of state-owned
corporation where land also becomes the property of the new acquirers.
34 Konings (1998:129) cited the example of two ex-managerial staff of PAMOL from the NWR who bought 50 ha each from local Chiefs in Lipenja and Lobe. 35 Registration is done following the Decree No. 76/165 of 27th April 1976 to establish conditions for obtaining land certificates as amended by Decree No. 2005/048 of 18th December 2005. 36 Interviews with D.O Njombe Penja
Processes, Mechanisms & Women in LSLAs 71
A case in point is the acquisition of the tea sector of CDC by Cameroon
Tea Estate in 200237. Another related means is through a government
tender take-over. As an example, PHP was able to acquire state-owned
plantation land formerly run by Société des Plantations de Njombe
Penja (SPNP) and Société des Banannes de Moungo (SBM) created in
the early 1930’s for banana production and exportation through the
creation of domain lands.
6.1.9. Acquisitions through expropriation
This is another process of acquisition by the State as guardian of all of
lands whether or not occupied in order to carry out projects which it
deems is for public purpose as provided for by Law No. 85/09 of
4/7/1985. This law also lay down the procedure governing
expropriation for public purpose and conditions for compensation. The
lands which are used here are more often than not untitled lands.
Konings (1993: 9) believes that SOCAPALM acquisition of lands in the
South Region that was met with stiff peasant resistance38was by
expropriation.
6.1.10. Contract farming scheme
Contract farming does not actually formally change the
property/ownership rights over the land (Díaz and Reca (2010) and
Borras et al 2012:411). In this process, smallholders supply produce to
agro-industries with which they have oral or written contracts in return
for credits, inputs technical assistance and market outlet (Koning
1998:112). Koning noted that it was introduced in PAMOL in 1960s
and later in CDC and SOCAPALM. Most of the contract farmers in
PAMOL are small producers, mainly migrant workers who had
purchased between 1 to 100ha of land in neighboring villages and upon
retirement engage in palm oil production.
37See Convention de cession de la filiere thé de la Cameroon Development Corporation, (CDC) au profit de la Cameroon Tea Estates 38 According to Eone, the expropriation did not only affect and radically change the lives of close to 450 families but also led to the loss of sacred sites- Eone, T (1974) “L’introduction des Structures Industrielles en Milieu rural: Le cas de la SOCAPALM a Eseka-Badjo,” Memoire de Journalisme, University of Yaounde: ESIJY in Konings, P. (1993) Labour Resistance in Cameroon, African Studies Center, Leiden.
72 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
6.2. Informal processes of large-scale land acquisition Although the Cameroon land tenure laws of Ordinance No. 74/1/74,
particularly Sect. 14 and 15, were intended to eclipse the customary
land tenure system, this has not been the case. Customary land tenure
is still a strong feature of land tenure even if tenure rights of such land
holders are not legally recognized. Statutorily, customary rights over
land lapsed by virtue of section 14(3) of Ordinance No. 74-1/74. Yet,
custom in practice still regulates most land tenure and transactions
especially in rural areas.
Customs and statutes classify, regulate, and define women’s land rights
differently. For example, while statutes classify land into state, private,
and national land, customary laws classify land into family, communal,
and sometimes palace land (Fonjong et al., 2012). Although the law is
clear, these different classifications have bred confusion, leading to
rivalry between the chiefs and local public officials or DOs as to who is
the owner and overall landlord of national land (Mope, 2011). In
customary tenure, this landlord is the chief and family heads, working
with their traditional or family councils, who today are malleable as they
are increasingly influenced by powerful political and business elites.
With statutory laws, it is the civil administrators through the Land
Consultative Boards or Site Board Commissions. The procedure for
grant of customary tenure is much easier as it is through negotiation,
consultation and signing of a memorandum of understanding, which is
not the case with statutory laws which require adherence to strict
procedure. In all of these, the investors are given priority right to land
because the chiefs and traditional elites are always self-seeking as was
observed in Ndian Division. The continuous existence of statutory laws
alongside customary practices affects the land grant process as the
investors tend to choose the one that best favours their interest.
The case of SG-SOC in Ndian and Kupe Muanenguba Divisions is a good
example that illustrates the confusion between customary and statutory
laws in the process of LSLAs and the neglect of women and sometimes
men too. Although due statutory procedures were not followed, SG-SOC
signed a Convention on 17th September 2009 with the Ministry of
Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINNEPAT), granting
Processes, Mechanisms & Women in LSLAs 73
the investor over 73,000 hectares of national land in the two divisions.
The process was top-down, without the prior, free, frank informed
consent of the communities involved as required by Sect. 1 of the UN
Human Rights Council 2009. Both the government and SG-SOC found
the implementation of this Convention on the ground difficult as the
villagers resisted, claiming their customary right over the said land.
Unable to move forward even with support from local elites and
administrative officials, the investors were forced to negotiate another
agreement with the affected communities following customary laws.
These negotiations ended with signed memorandums of understanding
between the company and some villages.
6.2.1. Negotiation of memorandums of understandings (MoUs)
Signing MoUs with affected villages is a customary informal process of
land acquisition that is not backed by the Land Ordinances. The process
is not only gender biased but is not transparent and the provisions of
the MoUs are sometimes vague and elusive. Quite often, too, the chiefs
and elders negotiating these MoUs have no legal minds and are
inexperienced. For example, many of these MoU signed by the chiefs of
Ndian and Kupe Muanenguba Divisions do not compel investors to
carry out any concrete development that will benefit affected
communities. The MoUs39 often contain white elephant projects or
empty promises to provide roads, electricity, potable water, schools,
hospitals, etc., without mentioning any specific localities or timeframes
within which the said projects are to be realized.
Again, some of the MoUs are negotiated in secrecy, far away from
affected areas40through coercion, intimidation, bullying41, cajoling or
outright bribery of local chiefs and other influential community
members. In some cases, elites and chiefs who signed these MoUs,
39 Interview with Chief of Talangaye on 25/5/15; interview Chief of Fabe; interview Chief of Makongo on 12/2/15; interview former Deputy Mayor-Mundemba council 13/2/15; interviews with community woman and farmer of Lipenja village on 21/5/2015. All the Chiefs, administrators, and community members interviewed agreed that the investors made promises in the MoUs they signed. 40 Interview with first Deputy Mayor of Mundemba on 3/4/14, first Deputy Mayor of Toko 3/4/14; Interview CEO Nature Cameroon 26/12/14. 41 RELUFA, 2013; Protest letter from Bima Youths and notables dated 11th April 2011.
74 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
committing their villages did so for their selfish interests in exchange for
appointments into the board of companies (the case of Lipenja), getting
a job for relatives or friends, or financial kickbacks, and without any
prior consultation with their people. In the end, community interests,
particularly those of women whose livelihoods rest solely on the land
and landed resources are ignored. The long-term effect is that when the
promises in the MoUs are not forthcoming, some of the chiefs and elites
who were signatories complain that they did not know what they were
getting themselves into and for that reason are asking for
renegotiations42. Other communities have learned from the misfortunes
of their neighbors and are refusing to enter into new MoUs for lack of
faith in them. Interestingly, the local administration is aware of the
lapses of these MoUs, but because of other interests allows them to
continue.
The absence of accountability from local administrators and political
elites means the villagers have nowhere to turn to, leaving investors to
have a free ride over the land even if it is only for a while before tension
erupts. Hardly have these communities succeeded to push for
parliamentary commissions to check some of the illegalities going on in
the informality. Local attempts are blocked by the same powerful elites
who may be directors, ministers, etc., appointed, and accountable to
government and not to the people. Government lost the trust of its
citizens during the 1990 re-awakening that led to political instability
and social unrest. Elites from almost every locality were appointed to
help restore state authority, credibility and support. These appointees
know that their power does not come from the masses and so tend to
support government action even to the detriment of the locals who by
the way cannot hold them accountable.
With this new power, these elites, fons, chiefs, bureaucrats, developed
trickery and influence peddling to accumulate as much communal land
for themselves as they could (Fisiy, 2004; Mope, 2006; Mope, 2011)in
42 Some villages like Babensi 1 and Ekita in Nguti sub- Division awakened to their land rights; formally resisted the land deal and have refused to sign individual memorandums of understanding (MoU) with the investors although some did sign the collective MOUs like that with the villages in Ndian in July 2010.
Processes, Mechanisms & Women in LSLAs 75
disrespect of the custom and the weak statutory laws in place. Just like
the political elites, the chiefs, many of whom are today more of
politicians than custodians of the customs, are also converting large
hectares of national land that ought to belong to their villages to their
private land and selling to investors43. Mope (2011) noted that the then
fon of Bamunka, Ndop (in the North West Region) coveted large chunks
of village land for large-scale rice cultivation. Thus, one sees here that
poor land governance is a good recipe for LSLAs as it allows both
investors and local powerful forces to grab land at the expense of
powerless and vulnerable communities.
6.3. Exclusion of women from the process of LSLAs From cosmetic consultation to the final phase of LSLAs, women play a
very insignificant role in the process, mainly because of the many
irregularities noted at all stages of the process. Village representatives
invited for consultations and negotiations are usually those in favor of
the investing companies’ interests and in support of the agenda of
traditional rulers. In many instances, women are not even aware of
some of the meetings. In the end, the project is hijacked by the chiefs
and elites, as was the case with PHP, SG-SOC or PAMOL where there is
little evidence that women were included or consulted.
Chiefs and even local administrative authorities rarely invite women to
meetings relating to scouting, discussing the land or concluding deals
with potential investors. Even in the few meetings the women attend,
their participation is limited to signing the attendance sheet; they are
not given room to voice their opinion. Only men, chiefs and elites talk.
In Fabe village in Ndain Division, for instance, the only woman in the
traditional council was not allowed to offer a contrary opinion to that of
the men and chiefs who had supported a land deal with an investor. To
further avoid contradictory statements from women and villagers, chiefs
sometimes make themselves the only contact and spokesperson for
their villages when it comes to land negotiations. The chief of Fabe
passed a strong order stating that he was the only one to talk to the
43 This is very common especially around Fako division on the land that CDC has ceded to local communities.
76 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
investor and anyone going against this order risked a penalty from the
traditional council44. In Talangaye, only the chief could talk about the
transfer of village land to investors. Women’s passive participation in
these localities was partly attributed to patriarchy, pivoted by customary
laws. Many customs do not give women voices in land issues. But that
was in the past when most land was communal and men and women
worked on the land with a common purpose as men cleared and women
cultivated.
In a few cases it was necessary for women of status (title holder) to take
part in the initial negotiation process, as the case of the female chiefs
of Bima, Makongo, Toko and Nguti. However, these women with
traditional status are not treated any differently from the ordinary
women that were passive participants without a voice. Decisions on
land transfer or not were exclusively between the chiefs and council
members. The presence of women during these meetings did not create
any impact as far as their needs and interests were concerned. Women
in Ekondo Nene explained that after the initial general meetings where
they were observers, they were only later on informed by the investor
and chiefs on the quantity and location of land granted by the village to
PAMOL. In the end, women had no forum to present their opinions or
pose questions to investors or chiefs.
The signing of MoUs between investors and local communities also
sidelined women as the meetings are usually labeled as ‘male
activities’. The management of PAMOL, for example, confirmed that
agreements to obtain land from the villages were signed by the chiefs
and village council members on behalf of the whole community. About
98% of women who were interviewed in these communities were not
even aware of the existence of these MoUs, their content, or the
signatories. A case in point is that of Talangaye where the women see
their limited or non-statutory involvement in meetings as an attempt by
men to confine them in their domestic roles as housewives whose
voices are not to be heard in the public sphere.
44 Interviews with a female community leader in Fabe
Processes, Mechanisms & Women in LSLAs 77
Besides patriarchy and customs that give these women little opportunity
to participate, many of them did not have titles to the land they exploit.
Together, these situations weaken women’s bargaining position against
their male counterparts who are protected by customs. Women here as
elsewhere in Cameroon rely on use rights to the land/forest they exploit
for livelihood. But the land customarily belongs to their husbands,
brothers and fathers. This makes them voiceless and without
confidence and authority to talk before their husbands, chiefs and
government during deals of land transfer to investors. Behrman et al
(2011) noted that the power of transfer of land to investors is
concentrated in the hands of those who can successfully claim
ownership, usually community leaders and male household heads and
not rural women who exercise only access and users’ rights.
As noted in earlier sections of this work, even the users’ rights to
customary land exercised by women are derived from their husbands,
fathers, brothers or other male relatives. This pre-supposes that women
work on the land that is customarily owned by men although these men
before the law have no right and security of tenure. Investors tend to
negotiate mostly with the rights holders and historically in many
customs, majority of women do not belong to this category.
Communities are represented in the government-created Land
Consultative Board by chiefs and notables. It indirectly means that
women are technically excluded from the board since female traditional
chiefs and notables rarely exist or are not accepted in these
communities. The lack of gender-sensitive land governance systems in
Cameroon gives room for consultations to take place without women.
The question of prior informed consent needs to go further to
interrogate who is consulted and the form and method of consultations
in order to cater for vulnerable groups. The current structural disposition
of formal and informal land governance in Cameroon excludes women
as stakeholders and their voices as a group whose livelihood is linked to
land. Consequently, they are vulnerable and can be severely affected by
decisions on land that neglect their voices. We found no woman as a
statutory member of the LCB in the three localities studied. No woman
was part of the delegations of chiefs and notables that negotiated the
78 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
terms of the MoU with SG-SOC in Ndian and Kupe Manenguba
Divisions. Could this provide a clue as to why strong women movements
are lacking in these areas to question and cry against the current trends
of LSLAs? Apparently, since these women are not involved and
informed, they cannot act.
Community members (men, women, or youths) did not approve of the
majority of the land deals in many of the villages surveyed. To avoid
hostilities, some deals as noted in Ndian were concluded out of the
localities, with government officials or with some chiefs and elites, far
from the reach of the rural women who are severely affected by any loss
of land. Rare cases where women participated were in Toko and Nguti
where the nyangereromo (female chiefs) were represented in
preliminary discussions just for protocol and/or window dressing to
satisfy international treaty obligations. Other important local institutions
like the municipal councils were also left out as recorded in Mundemba,
Ndian. Keeping aside an important stakeholder like the council in the
process of leasing out land by whosoever is like postponing a problem
they are soon to face in the nearest future.
We observed that although women did not take part in the negotiation,
the participation of rural women might have seriously impacted the
outcome. They have never been empowered to be strong players. They
have for long been sidelined and kept out of land matters by patriarchy
and statutory land institutions (LCB and SBC). Rural women need to be
educated on their land rights and assisted in land registration in order
to exercise a stronger bargaining power and play active roles during
land negotiations. Oxfam (2011: 23) has pointed out that the
governments neither ensured that the rights holder be present at the
negotiating table nor did they educate and empower them to be strong
bargainers during LSLAs.
6.4. The question of the level of transparency in the land deals Large-scale land leasing negotiations in Africa as Sindeyigaya (nd)
observes are flawed with secrecy and opacity. The whole process of
land acquisition, particularly in Ndian and Kupe Manenguba divisions, is
murky at all levels. At the national level, the 2009 lease agreement
Processes, Mechanisms & Women in LSLAs 79
between SG-SOC and the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Territorial
Development provoked more questions than answers as to the level of
transparency that was involved. The lease agreement gave SG-SOC
73,086 hectares of land in the two divisions. This Convention is
contrary to Cameroon’s land law which requires that a lease concession
of this size be approved by a presidential decree. The company could
not have violated the law to secure such a large cheap deal from the
Ministry, according to PSMNR (2013), without the possibility of money
changing hands. Even the SG-SOC-PAV (Project of Affected Villages45)
which is supposed to be a local institution created with the community
to oversee the interest of the communities within the project area lacks
both legality and legitimacy. The government administrator who signed
the document has no jurisdiction over the people of Ndian and Kupe
Muanenguba divisions. One wonders why and who transported the
representatives of these communities to Fako where it was signed. As
observed by a top official from one of the local NGOs operating in the
affected area during our interviews,
“… the SG-SOCPAV as put in place was a Prefectural Order
signed by the SDO Fako instead of Kupe Manenguba or better
still the Divisional Officer for Nguti Sub-Division which is the
place of action. For this reason the SG-SOC-PAV is not an
indigenous institution created by the people for the people…”46
In this wise, unanswered questions abound: what interest has the said
administrator in signing the SG-SOC PAV instead of his local colleagues
in Nguti or Ndian? How legitimate was the mission undertaken by those
who traveled to Fako, many kilometers away from their villages, to sign
this document?
At the local level, most communities have described the process of
negotiation embarked upon by the agro-companies as corrupt and non-
transparent. They argue that some of the elites, chiefs or people who
45The SG-SOC PAV is a Prefectural Order signed by the SDO of Fako creating a forum to handle issues between companies and communities resulting from the acquisition of land in affected areas. It has been criticized by local NGOs as illegal as it was signed by the SDO of Fako instead of his counterparts of affected divisions, Ndian and Kupe Manenguba. 46 Interview with Nature, Cameroon, 2014
80 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
claimed to be negotiating on behalf of the respective communities do
not have the mandate of these communities. Many were bribed and
represented only their individual selfish interests. For example, these
communities hold that some of the chiefs (for example the chiefs of
Ndian and Bassosi) who had earlier signed protest memoranda to the
government against the acquisition of their land by agro-companies
later on signed contrary documents in favor of the deals when they
received bribes. To sustain this line of thought, chiefs were invited and
lodged in high standard hotels out of their localities and handed
unexplained gifts. Besides, even official meetings and negotiations
were carried out in Kumba, Buea and Douala, many kilometers away
from the population and localities. These have raised suspicions and
doubts within affected populations. The use of bribery and divide and
rule tactics has also caused disharmony within the villages as observed
in Nguti where the village has been split into two opposing camps; one
against and the other in favor of the plantation.
In the hill of constant pressure and accusation of using bribery and
corruption to acquire land from the chiefs, SG-SOC acknowledged in a
press statement of January 2013 having donated 11 tons of rice and
10 tons of fish to over 8000 individuals in some villages of their
targeted area (PRNewswire, 2013). But this act is regarded as another
common form of corruption. Field interviews reveal that agro-investors
resorted to providing free food (rice, fish, and cow meat) to the
population in villages that resisted them in order to ‘buy’ their
consciences. One public official in Nguti for example, remarked that
“….food bribery and lobbying could be one of the reasons why some of
the opposing villages to LSLAs later changed their minds in favor of the
project…” We also found cases where villages went on strike to resist
investors because they had offered more food and drinks to a
neighboring village or neighborhood than what was offered to them.
This is the case of one of the strikes staged by the Nguti women, which
according to an informant, stemmed from the fact that a group of
women were sidelined in the distribution of food, forcing the neglected
group to block the entrance into the company palm nursery until they
got their share of the booty. Another community that got the food but
still resisted the company, explained that the company had claimed it
Processes, Mechanisms & Women in LSLAs 81
was customary for them to distribute food stuff at the end of the year to
local communities.
Food donations by SG-SOC to selected communities in the areas
targeted for their investment in Ndian and Kupe Muanenguba Divisions
in 2012 cannot be considered as the company’s habitual social act
which is corruption-free. It was not continued in 2013 or 2014.In fact,
one Mr. Edimo, a Cameroonian-American, Environmentalist and Human
Rights Activist, described the action of SG-SOC in an open letter to
Herakles Farms' CEO as unsustainable and without foresight when he
asked the CEO:
"…How long will the tens of thousands of people displaced,
dehumanized and enslaved by your so-called sustainable
development project live off your 11 tons of rice and 10 tons of
fish? Are they going to be eating the rice and fish for 99 years as
they will have no land to farm after you have seized and
destroyed their only treasure and hope for a livelihood? It might
have made some sense to a few people if you had instead
empowered the people whom you are trying to feed with rice
and fish by educating and encouraging them to cultivate rice
and start fish farming…" (http://www.icameroon.com)
Lack of transparency in LSLA deals has been reported by many studies.
Oxfam (2011) observes that the absence of transparency limits both
the power and ability of the civil society to negotiate and implement the
deals as well as how the local stakeholders respond to the new
challenges. This makes it difficult for the local communities to know
exactly who is involved and what they are accountable for (Oxfam 2011:
32). This is compounded by the fact that at the international scene,
available transparency initiatives are limited only to extractive
industries, according to Extractive industries Transparency Initiatives.
We observe above that although different processes and mechanisms
may be used in LSLAs, they all lead to the dispossession of land from
village communities. Furthermore, investors may privilege different
processes at different times depending on which one serves their
interest best. PAMOL, for example, applied both formal and informal
82 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
rules. PAMOL had direct negotiations with the villages and the signing of
MoUs before concluding the concession for 99 years with the
government. Although PAMOL might have followed due procedure as
provided by Section 7 of Decree 76/166/76, another investor, SG-SOC
may not have initially done so. The company negotiated a Convention
with MINEPAT in 2009 to obtain 73,086 hectares of land in Ndian and
Kupe-Muanenguba Divisions, without even a presidential approval as
required by law. In the course of acquisition, both formal and informal
processes neglect women in both representation and voice though rural
women depend almost entirely on this land for the livelihood and
survival of their families.
This chapter reveals that though the various legal frameworks and
institutions governing land in Cameroon may be gender neutral, the
processes themselves are not. In addition to excluding women,
negotiations leading to large-scale acquisitions are not transparent. The
absence of transparency and inclusiveness in the process may be
related to the actors and interests involved in LSLAs.
.
Chapter 7 Actors of Large-Scale
Land Acquisitions
The political economy theory explains the struggles related to control
over land and how it shapes direction of agrarian change. The
traditional notion “who owns what” and “who gets what” that explains
social relations of property (Scoones, 2009) also defines the actors and
their roles in the processes of LSLAs and the various outcomes thereof.
In Cameroon, there is a general fallacy that LSLAs take place mostly on
land that is ‘vacant’ and without effective occupation or exploitation.
This is largely false and a wrong notion. Scott (1998a), Oxfam (2011)
and Fonjong, et al. (2011) have demonstrated that land that is not
under effective exploitation at any given time does not mean it is vacant
or idle. The absence of effective exploitation does not dispossess the
natives of their rights to such land because it could be communal forest
reserves, virgin forest where women harvest NTFPs, village hunting
grounds, land under fallow or sacred forests and sanctuaries. Local
communities in Cameroon historically used the land for these purposes
until the advent of Decree No. 76/165/76 that instituted land titling as
the only proof of land ownership.
There are various actors involved in LSLAs with different interests, with
very few principally for women. The key actors identified by the
population during the study are investors, government, chiefs, and
elites.
84 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Fig. 1. Respondents’ estimation of main actors involved in LSLAs
7.1. Investors They include multinational, foreign, and national companies acquiring
land for capital investment. The most visible LSLAs involve foreign
multinational companies. However, these companies
partnership with domestic investors. Domestic partners in most cases
may lead to the process of speculative accumulation of
Speculative accumulation of land by local elites, particularly through the
privatization of previously commonly-held land, as noted by many ILC
the main driver of land alienation from local land
speculation by local elites may be in anticipation of possible
partnerships with foreign investors or for direct investment by
themselves. Land acquisition by domestic investors appear
significant contributor to the alienation of land from local land users,
while domestic partners are often integral to foreign investment.
In the past, foreign investors were mostly from Cameroon
colonial powers, particularly France. Today these investors come from
all parts of the world including the United States, Arab states, China,
Europe and others (see Table 4). The global facet of these investments
represents the global scale of the demand for food or bio f
liberalization of the economic space in Cameroon which was not the
case before the structural adjustment program of the 1990
thus came along with global capital in search of safe havens, markets
and profitability. The fundamental objective of investors is not to
Chiefs and Elites60%
Government officials
20%
Investors12%
Women8%
in LSLAs
include multinational, foreign, and national companies acquiring
involve foreign and
companies often act in
domestic investors. Domestic partners in most cases
speculative accumulation of land.
Speculative accumulation of land by local elites, particularly through the
noted by many ILC is
and-users. Such
elites may be in anticipation of possible
partnerships with foreign investors or for direct investment by the elites
appears to be a
significant contributor to the alienation of land from local land users,
while domestic partners are often integral to foreign investment.
foreign investors were mostly from Cameroon’s former
. Today these investors come from
all parts of the world including the United States, Arab states, China,
these investments
the global scale of the demand for food or bio fuel and
liberalization of the economic space in Cameroon which was not the
case before the structural adjustment program of the 1990s. Investors
thus came along with global capital in search of safe havens, markets
ive of investors is not to
Chiefs and Elites60%
ACTORS IN LSLAS ACQUISITIONS 85
provide social amenities, create employment, fight poverty, or improve
the lives of affected population but to make profit. In fact, even the
quantities of land acquired shows that there is no agenda for women in
view.
7.1.2. The size of land requested
The majority of rural dwellers believe that the large quantity of land
requested by investors is absurd and undermines the future of their
children and stability in their areas. For example, prior to the new
demand for land in Ndian and Kupe Muanenguba Divisions where one
of the agro companies was seeking for over 73,086 hectares of land,
these localities were already host to PAMOL oil palm plantations and a
number of forest reserves and parks, all which have occupied a good
quantity of land (see Map. 3). It explains why some of the local chiefs
through the Ngolo Chiefs’ Conference of 2010 noted that it was no
longer possible to grant additional land to whosoever. The chiefs argued
that the Rumpi Forest Reserve already occupied 45,675 hectares, the
Korup Park 126,000 hectares, PAMOL Plantation Ltd 11,000 hectares,
Ndongre Park 2,300 hectares and the Mundemba Council Forest
11,210 hectares (Ngolo Chiefs Conference, 2010). Some of those
interviewed (elites, chiefs and women) observed that they had learned
from the negative experiences on the indigenous population in Fako
Division where CDC plantations had rendered them landless or tenants
in their own land. This is partly the origin of local resistance against
LSLAs in the area.
7.2. The government Section 1 of Ordinance No. 74-1 of 5th July 1974 stipulates that the
State is the guardian of all lands in Cameroon. Land deals are
considered legitimate by government if they are in line with its
development strategies or political goals. When government categorizes
part of national land as vacant and idle, it gives the state opportunity to
acquire land through executive powers (Scott, 1998) and lease to
whosoever it pleases without being held accountable (Schneider, 2011
and Mope, 2011). As a major player, the activities of the central
government are executed by local government officials who ensure that
the directives are strictly implemented at local levels as noted by one of
86 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
the senior public officials interviewed. Section 1 of Decree No 76/166
of 27th April 1976 empowers the DOs to approve temporary grants
(Sect. 4-8 of same) and long lease or absolute grants (Sect. 9-11 of
same) for development projects in line with the socio-cultural, economic
and political policies of the nation under the management of the LCB.
With such powers, some of the DOs interviewed held the opinion that
government does not need to consult or negotiate with affected
communities when these communities are on national land. The
following reasons highlight government interests in LSLAs.
Fig. 2. Why government authorities promote LSLAs in their respective Divisions Source: Field Work, 2015
7.2.1. Land expropriation for security reasons
This is the case with most early plantations that were created in Mungo
to respond to security threats from nationalist movements against the
government of President Ahidjo prior to and just after independence in
1960. The arms and other tactics used by these movements created
insecurity in that part of the country, considered as their stronghold. The
Cameroon government wanted to develop the vast land of the Mungo
that served as passage and hide-out in a bid to destabilize the
uprisings. The Ahidjo government acquired land within the area and
created the Organisation Cameroonaise des Bananes (OCB) out of
national land in 1968 without local consent. The local administration of
the Njombe-Penja area believes that the action of the State was both
0 2 4 6 8 10
To raise Revenue …
Low Population …
Number of responses
Rea
son
s A
dv
an
ced
Mungo Division
Kupe Manenguba
Ndian Division
ACTORS IN LSLAS ACQUISITIONS 87
legal and legitimate since it involved no displacements, and the large
plantation provided important security to the population47. The State-
owned OCB was subsequently privatized and bought by PHP who
considers only the State (and not the local population) as its landlord of
the over 4,500 hectares of land which the company is currently
exploiting48. By implication, the indigenous population has never been
consulted either by the State or PHP on the land deals.
7.2.2. To promote agricultural and rural development
Agriculture in rural Cameroon is predominantly rudimentary, less
productive and depends on very little land at a time. Government sees
large-scale plantations as a form of agricultural modernization. Local
public officials hold that land is important for development and keeping
it ‘idle’ is waste of resources. It is in this regard that government is
allocating large portions of land to big investors within its new policy of
Second Generation Agriculture. The Policy of Second Generation
Agriculture involves large expanses of land and mechanization in
tandem with its Vision 2035 and Emergence of Cameroon4950. Land in
enclaved areas (Kupe Manenguba and Ndian for example) is given out
at relatively low prices as compared to land in the Mungo area. The
reason is to attract investors because they are seen as pro-
development agents as advocated in the National Growth and
Employment Strategy Paper51.
7.2.3. As a source of government revenue
Land officials of the Ministry of Economic Planning and Territorial
Development and SDOs see in LSLAs opportunities for the government
to raise revenue from the sale of land and taxation. Land deals are
supposed to generate lots of revenue for the State. In addition to the
land itself, timber exploited in the course of preparing the land for
agriculture brings in money. However, there is little evidence that local
47 Interview with Divisional Officer, Njombe-Penja, October 29th 2014 48 Interview with the Management of PHP, December 16th 2014 49 See generally the Growth and Employment Strategy Paper 2010, the reference framework for Cameroon Government Action over the period 2010-2020. 50 Interview with Divisional Delegate for Agriculture, Mungo.19/11/14). 51 Interview with Divisional Delegate of Economy Planning and Regional Development, Ndian date, 05/04/2014
88 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
communities and municipalities are benefitting from the anticipated
revenue. Investigation at local revenue collectors in Ndian and Kupe
Muanenguba whose companies (SG-SOC and PAMOL) have acquired
land did not provide any evidence of taxes or royalties received from
these companies. One can only expect a change in the situation in the
long run.
7.2.4. Promote infrastructural development and the fight against poverty
With the exception of Mungo, Ndian and Kupe Manenguba Divisions are
among the divisions with the worst state of basic infrastructures and
opportunities even though they are endowed with enormous natural
resources. Ndian, for example, is gifted with timber, biodiversity and
hosts the formerly disputed oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula. As a border area
to Nigeria, it is an entry point into Cameroon which offers many
economic opportunities52. These riches notwithstanding, Ndian remains
an enclave. It has no single kilometer of paved road, and until recently,
the divisional headquarters of Mundemba did not receive radio and
television signals from the national stations. It is linked to Meme, the
nearest accessible division by seasonal road constructed in the colonial
days and used by PAMOL to evacuate its products. Movement within the
division is mostly by water and prior to the resolution of the Bakasi
crisis, other basic infrastructure like public schools, hospitals, pipe-
borne water, electricity, telecommunication facilities were largely
lacking. The same situation applies to its neighbor Kupe Muanenguba,
equally endowed with vast lands, forests and other natural riches, but
also an enclave and with very few social services. Basic public social
amenities and road infrastructures are relatively well implanted in the
major urban centers of Mungo but villages outside the towns do not
enjoy similar facilities. In a village like Mbomegwandang in Njombe
Penja where PHP operates, the chief notes that the village was without
pipe borne water, electricity and schools for many years, forcing
children to travel long distances to attend school out of the village53. In
Mouataba, another village of the area, for example, there is no school.
52Interview with DO, Ekondo Titi, date 4/8/15 53 Interview with the Chief of Mbomegwandang, date 30/4/14
ACTORS IN LSLAS ACQUISITIONS 89
The absence of basic social amenities and infrastructures has deprived
these areas of meaningful take-off. There is massive rural exodus, even
by the chiefs. In Ndian, chiefs have abandoned their villages to live in
Mundemba, the divisional headquarters, where they can enjoy some
amenities. This state of social and infrastructural deprivation,
enclavement and neglect leaves the villagers vulnerable to exploitation
by unscrupulous investors. Investors’ promises and investments are
viewed by both the State and some rural dwellers as a pathway out of
the poverty trap. The chief of Talangaye put it in this way:
“We in Talangaye found the coming of SG-SOC [the investor] as a rare event. We had always dreamt of what can bring real development to the area. We saw that our forest, though the source of our livelihood, has not been able to transform our economy from traditional to modern and move our community along with the 2035 agenda of emergence. Talangaye wanted outside projects that could bring it into visibility in line with vision 2035. I was captivated by SG-SOCs vision and I saw in them real partners in development. My forest was in my eye’s
mind transformed to development54”.
The chief saw only positive returns from the loss of land and forest,
especially opportunities for development which the village must take
advantage of. All pro-LSLAs believed that areas such as Fako Division
which are relatively well served with roads, electricity, hospitals
facilities, schools and even a university, obtained all these thanks to the
early plantations established in the area by the CDC. Similarly, Ekondo
Titi has benefitted from a number of amenities and infrastructures
within the Ndian Division thanks to the existence of PAMOL. One of the
village chiefs excited with the coming of an investor soliciting land from
his village explained that he wanted his village to be as developed as
Ekondo Titi, adding that “...we have preserved the forest this far and
this has not taken the village anywhere…” 55. The Chief of Fabe, where
SG-SOC has an abandoned palm nursery, continued in the same line of
thought, insisting that “…conservation over the years has brought no
54 Interview with the chief of Talangye on 25/5/15 55 Interviewed on 21/5/15
90 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
development…” and so sees “…conservation as a waste and retardation
for the village…”
Generally and specifically in the study area as noted previously, the
state acquires lands through expropriation, privatization, conventions,
decrees, and the use of local officials or commissions (LCB and SBC).
Although these acquisitions sometimes generate tension, local civil
administrators still hold that as guardian of all land, the government is
under no obligation to consult affected communities. Others recognize
the rights of communities on the land but argue that LSLAs take place
on what they call ‘vacant or idle lands’ belonging to the State56.
7.3. The role of chiefs Chiefs in Cameroon are seen as custodians of the land and auxiliaries
of the administration in the communities they rule as traditional rulers.
Prior to European colonization, chiefs served as the custodians and
guardians of the rural communities and the bastions of native laws and
customs. This historically dominant role of chiefs in customary land
ownership57 compelled Viscount Haldane in the Privy Council decision in
Amodu Tijani v. Secretary of Southern Nigeria58 to describe a chief as:
“… in loose mode of speech the owner. He is to some extent in the position of a trustee, and as such holds the land for use of the community… He has control of it, and any member who wants a piece of it to cultivate or build upon, goes to him for it. But the land so given still remains the property of the
community or family. He cannot make any important disposition of the land without consulting the elders of the community…, and their consent must in all cases be given before a grant can
be made to a stranger…”
56 Interview with SDO Ndian, 4/4/14 57 See Meek, C.K, Land Tenure and Land Administration in Nigeria and Cameroon.
London: HMSO, 1957 in Njoh, A.J.,” Continuity and Change in Cameroon Land Policy,” Planning Perspectives, 15 (2000) 241-265 at page 244
58 [1921] A.C. 399 at p. 404. See also Rayner C.J’s Report on Land Tenure in West Africa (1898). See generally on this Elias, T.O: Nigerian Land Law, 4th Edition, London, Sweet & Maxwell; R.W. James, Modern Land Law of Nigeria, University of Ife Press
ACTORS IN LSLAS ACQUISITIONS 91
In fact, the powers and roles of the chiefs in LSLAs must be seen in the
light of the above Locus classicus. It was partly in recognition of the
powers of the chiefs over customary land that the former British colonial
administration adopted the indirect rule through the chiefs in this part
of Cameroon that it governed at that time as part of Eastern Nigeria.
This power to manage customary lands was however handed to the DOs
at the sub-divisional level with the nationalization of land by the 1974
Land Ordinance. Sections 14 and 15 of Ordinance No. 74-1/74 placed
the management of land on the LCB presided over by the DOs. Although
the new statute made chiefs mere statutory members of the LCB, it is
difficult for the appointed DOs to assert full authority over local
institutions, especially in land matters. The result is endemic rivalry
between the chiefs and the DOs on issues of land tenure.
In formal LSLAs, Sect. 16 (2) Ordinance No. 74-1/74 and Sect. 12 of
Decree No. 76/166/76 empowers chiefs and their two notables at any
given time to represent their communities on the LCB. As members of
the Board, they provide vital information, including information relating
to boundaries of their communities and cultural and sacred sites during
environmental socio-cultural impact assessment (ESCIA). Where the
chief and two notables are absent during board deliberations, any
decisions taken are not binding. Such was the case in the Divisional
Officer Ndop v. Batowe Zacheus Yekong59 trial. The chiefs and their two
notables cannot be dispensed with in land deals by whosoever if such
deals are to be legal and legitimate. When it comes to LSLAs the debate
is on whether these chiefs represent themselves or community
interests, and their ability to effectively participate in the LCB in the face
of powerful capitalist interests and state lobby.
Field evidence has been mixed. Although some chiefs (chiefs from
Manyemen60 Lipenja, Fabe and especially Talanlgaye61) actively
participated in negotiations preceding the concession granted to SG-
SOC, some of their peers were marginalized. In the village of Babensi 1,
for example, the land was demarcated and pillars planted without the
59 (1994) CAJ-CLC Part 1, Appeal No. BCA/2/78 (Unreported) 60 Interview with two female Chiefs of Manyemen, Kupe Manenguba Division, 19/12/14 61 Interview with the Chief of Talangye, Kupe Manenguba Division, June 2015
92 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
active participation of the chief62. The rights of some of those sidelined
in the process were usurped by other influential chiefs and political
elites for personal gains63. Chiefs do not however participate in
negotiations if the land in question is state or individual private land.
A number of chiefs who negotiated MoUs to allocate land to agro
companies were either coerced or bribed into doing so. Even in this
context, not all the chiefs accepted to give out their land. Some villages
like Nguti64 and Ekita65 opted out because they believed the process
unfair and opaque. Others, like Babensi 1, did not think that the village
land was enough for populations and plantation companies. These
villages have been able to resist bribe from investors and even lobbying
from donors-sponsored elites and fellow chiefs. In fact, we observed, as
Fissiy (1992) and Mope (2011) also did, that because of illicit gains
from the commoditization of land, many chiefs have tended to use their
privileged positions to syphon community lands for themselves for
private plantations or sale to companies.
7.3.1. Chief, accountability and legitimacy in LSLAs
Many questions have been raised as to the legitimacy of land attributed
to companies by chiefs and the extent to which these chiefs are
accountable to their subjects. This question arises today partly because
chieftaincy, regarded formerly as sacred and people-centered, is losing
that image increasingly with the politicization of the positionin
Cameroon (Fombad, 2004; Mope, 2009). Today, most chiefs are
partisan and disconnected from their people. The chiefs selling land are
rarely guided by insightful information. For example, but for those of the
villages of Talangaye and Fabe (who gave land to SG-SOC), and Ekondo
Nene (in the case of PAMOL), the other chiefs in Ndian and Kupe
Manenguba did not know the total surface area of their village, and the
expanse that could be given out without depriving their people of
62 Interview with Regent Babensi 1, Kupe Manenguba Division, 19/12/14) 63 Interview with community member of Lipenja 11, Ndian Division, 21/5/15 64 Ebanga and Babensi 1 In Kupe- Maneneguba chiefs of villages like Badun, Betock, Bombe-
Konye, New Konye who refused to enter negotiations were intimidated, lured and bullied to sign land deals with SG-SOC. Also see Land grabbing in Cameroon: The Herakles Case by Clara Rowe, April 19th, 2013 accessed at
http://www.youthadvocacynetwork.org/blogland-grabbing-in-cameroon-the-herakles-case 65 Interview with Chief of Ekita, Kupe Manenguba Division, 19/12/14.
ACTORS IN LSLAS ACQUISITIONS 93
farmland (Table 5). Some had no clue of the primary transaction
between government and investors over their land; others did not
possess key documents (Convention and/or Presidential Decree or
ESCIA) leasing their land to investors as in the case of SG-SOC in Ndian
and Kupe Manenguba Divisions; and some others were even unaware
of the duration of the concessions.
Table 5: Knowledge of traditional rulers on the situation of land and LSLAs in
their villages SN Knowledge of the
Traditional rulers on:
The situation in Ndian Division
The situation in in Kupe Manenguba Division
The situation in in Mungo
Have an idea
Have no idea
Have an idea
Have no idea
Have an idea
Have no idea
1 Total quantity of available village land
6 4 1 4 2 2
2 Amount of land leased out
7 2 2 2 4 2
3 Amount of land left after lease
3 1 2 2 1 2
4 Duration of lease 6 3 2 2 3 2 Total number of
responses 22 10 7 10 10 8
Percentage of responses
69 31 41 59 55.5 44.5
Source: Fieldwork, 2016
With or without MoUs, most chiefs are unable to hold companies
accountable. In Penja and Njombe areas where PHP have their
plantations, some chiefs complained that their plea for electricity and
water was ignored for over 20 years, during which period the company
facilities in the same area had these amenities. Although this example
may seem to lend credence to those who see investors as profit
seekers and not developers, an interview with PHP management
suggests that although these requests were important, they were less
so when they were made. In the end, where the populations feel
maltreated, they no longer take their problems to the chiefs whom they
consider as corrupt. They can only complain to the same companies
causing the problem, with no hope of an adequate response; much less
a speedy one.
94 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Credible structures put in place for accountability are rare and the few
that exist are not readily accessible. Some chiefs complained of the
cost to access and/or limited knowledge about them. Only a few chiefs
contemplate legal action or popular resistance when aggrieved.
Besides, it is an uphill task for small villages to sue financial giants like
Herakles Farms or PAMOL Plc to court, let alone to force them to comply
with court decisions that run contrary to their investment interests.
These villagers need both financial and material assistance in this
direction. Local and international NGOs (Nature Cameroon and Green
Peace) have been offering training and information to help affected
communities in this direction.
As capacity building is making chiefs more aware of their
responsibilities and the stakes in these land deals, an increasing
number are timidly embracing community interests in their action. They
have enlarged their entourage to include youths and women, and are
even requesting that some of the land deals already concluded with
investors be renegotiated to take better care of mainstream community
interests. One of the chiefs, (chief of Makongo, Ndian),like his peers in
the division, has risen against the earlier collective MoU signed between
the chiefs of Ndian and SG-SOC. They are asking for annulment and
that MoUs should be renegotiated with individual villages. Yet, there are
other chiefs who still support investors in exchange for gifts and cheap
positions, and see nothing wrong with the status quo.
7.3.2. Chiefs and the question of women’s land rights in the process of LSLAs
Women as already seen constitute the majority of those who work on
the land, harvesting NTFPs and fetching water and fuel wood among
other activities from the forest in Mungo, Ndian and Kupe Muanenguba
Divisions. It thus follows that any decision on the land directly or
indirectly affects both their rights as users and their livelihood66. Yet, in
almost all the affected communities surveyed, women were rarely
66 According to the President of Women’s Forum Mundemba, women’s predominant
activity is farming for sustainable livelihood. For that reason they will feel the impact because their source of livelihood has been withdrawn; interviewed on 22/5/15. Another female interviewee (21/5/15) explained that in the long run the women will suffer as they will forever lose the right to harvest NTFP for their sustainable livelihoods.
ACTORS IN LSLAS ACQUISITIONS 95
represented formally or informally in the process of LSLAs. In this
respect, Ebanga and Manyemen are exceptions as they are ruled by
female chiefs. Many of the chiefs deliberately exclude women from their
delegations. A few of these chiefs argued that the women were
reluctant to participate, although this could not be confirmed by women.
Some women (the case of the villages of Makongo and Bima67) rather
held that they were advised by their chiefs to wait for the outcome of
the negotiations while those that were not invited for such negotiations
in Ekondo Nene simply noted that the men did not consider the voices
of women important68.
In occasions where women’s representation was considered mandatory,
most of those who represented them were passive, except where they
were represented by female political elites69. We found such passive
female participation in Bima Makongo where the nyanga Mboka
(female chiefs) are old, tired, and are no longer assertive. There was no
evidence of the impact of their presence in land negotiations on
women’s needs and concerns. Some of these female chiefs could not
actually confirm whether or not any MoU was signed during meetings
they attended. Nevertheless, while the chiefs held that women were
generally passive in meetings, the women complained that they were
never given the opportunity to talk. What is evidently clear is that very
few women are involved in the process70 and in the end their voices go
unheard.
The absence of women’s voices in the process in the three divisions
studied was evident in the outcome of the negotiations and situation of
women today. Even where there were community concerns, they
67 Interview with a female community member, 21/5/15 68 Interview with the Divisional president Ndian Women’s Forum; president WCPDM,
22/5/15 69The woman chosen to represent Lipenja II was chosen because she is an assertive
and patriotic person who can defend the interest of the village. She was also part of a meeting that held at Chariot Hotel in Buea in 2009, more than 100 km from Mundemba. Yet, she has not heard of nor seen the 2013 presidential decree leasing the land for which she is supposed to be defending women’s interest in these meetings. This only goes to show that the presence of women at such deals is mere window dressing.
70 Interview with Assistant Divisional Officer Ekondo-Titi on 3rd August 2015.
96 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
neglected women’s issues and dealt with those of general interest. As a
result, women suffer from scarcity of farmland, or travel long distances
to farm where they cannot evacuate their produce to the market
because of no roads, as in Njombe. Food stuff is relatively scarce in the
market and food prices are rising. The scarcity and high prices of food
are also linked to the fact that some women abandoned farming to take
up unskilled jobs in the plantations. This same scenario has created
hunger in communities like Fabe where the women were employed in
the palm nursery. Incomes earned could not feed the home and where
women have been laid off they find it difficult to return to their farms
which have been abandoned for long or taken over by plantations.
Women lost their user rights over land, with minimal compensation only
for the crops found on the land. They can no longer enjoy their rights to
the commons. They have even lost the jobs promised by investors,
without compensation. Advocates (local administrators, chiefs and
investors) of LSLAs argue that these losses, if truly they exist, cannot
measure up to the anticipated development that these areas will soon
experience. They argue that women will get off-farm employment; but
how many women compared to the number that lost their rights to the
commons and their ancestral land eternally? While these rights and
crops were lost forever, compensation is momentary. In fact, there were
no women-specific clauses in the MoUs that were signed. No immediate
skilled development for women necessary for agricultural
transformation was included in the development plan agreed with
investors in the MoUs. Affected communities came out the greatest
losers because the whole process of land leasing was skewed to
sideline women whose role in transforming the land for the sustenance
of these communities cannot be measured.
7.4. The role of the elites Political elites in affected communities play an important role in
promoting LSLAs for themselves and in solidarity with government. They
are largely unaccountable for their action and support large land
concessions. They are also pushed by speculative reasons to acquire
patches of land which, when put together, make a significant chunk.
ACTORS IN LSLAS ACQUISITIONS 97
To legalize their illegitimate actions, they forged through poorly-framed
MoUs signed by chiefs who were coerced, cajoled or outright bribed.
This explains why activities of these self-serving elites are resisted by
the population as recorded in Nguti, Mundemba, Fabe, and Bima. The
people have questioned the legitimacy of these elites in representing
popular interests in some of the MoUs. While most of the elites are
self-seeking, a few working with local NGOs continue to work with
communities to make them rights-aware and empowered to be better
negotiators. These activities are bearing fruits as villages like Babensi
11, Ebanga, Nguti, Sikam and Ngolo are resisting some of the land
deals because they are now rights-aware. Even few women have
pressed and obtained better individual compensation.
It is difficult to establish from the forgoing discussion that LSLAs are
community-driven. Field investigations reveal that most chiefs and elites
represent mostly their selfish interests in the process. They are
intimidated, coerced, lobbied or bribed by investors to mortgage the
future of whole communities. The involvement of chiefs in active party
politics with the reintroduction of multi-party politics in the 1990s in
Cameroon has significantly destroyed their hitherto sacred role as
guarantors of community interest. They function as part of the
administration, forfeiting community interests for political
appointments, power, and financial favors in exchange for partisan
support. As Mope (2009) has also observed, this system of political
support and clientelism has fuelled LSLAs as states and investors use
elites to bring pressure to bear on chiefs to cooperate in the sale of
national land. The interchange of favors and support between the
government and chiefs has created a new type of chief whose pursuit of
wealth and political power has relegated the respect of customs and
community interest to third place. The chiefs thus condone the
dispossession of villagers of their ancestral land without due process of
consultation and accountability.
Key actors involved in LSLAs have different interests that supersede those of affected communities, especially women. The inability to mainstream women’s interests and those of other vulnerable community members provides some glimpse as to why women have been more disproportionately affected by the phenomenon.
Chapter 8
Socio-Economic Effects of LSLAs on Women
Land deals have differential effects on both men and women in the
community. This is because men and women have different social roles,
rights and opportunities (Behrman et al, 2011). Taking away land from
women through long-term transfer negatively affects their welfare. More
importantly, it affects the wellbeing of the family as a whole even if
some husbands earn income from the investing companies. Cousins
and Scoones (2010) explain that in rural economies, land is seen as a
basic livelihood asset and the principal form of natural capital which
provides food, income and a range of natural resources harvested, and
a core strategy for rural livelihoods. This is especially so in Cameroon
where 80-85% of rural women depend on land for livelihood (Fombe et
al., 2013).
8.1 Positive Impact of LSLAs on Women Although LSLAs have registered lots of criticism because of their
negative effects on the livelihood of women and the affected
communities, there are some positive effects reported by both the
investors and affected communities. Fig. 3 shows the perception of
both men and women in all the three study areas on how positive LSLAs
have been to women. There were no significant differences in the
responses from men and women. However, the creation of rural
employment for women and the provision of social infrastructure were
seen to be the principal areas where women have benefitted.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS 99
Fig. 3. Respondents’ perceptions of the positive effects of LSLAs on women and affected communities
8.1.1. Creation of rural employments
LSLAs investments have generated some local employment
opportunities; but it remains to be seen whether women have
benefitted or not from them. From the gender distribution of CDC
workers at the Malende Rubber Estates, over 60% of the women gained
employment only as unskilled laborers doing mostly the lowly paid
precarious jobs (weeders, harvesters) while men dominate in
managerial positions such as foremen and filed supervisors.
Although the management of PHP indicated that equal opportunity is
given to both men and women in recruitments, their records show
gender disparity in the level of managerial staff. In Kupe and Ndian, a
few of the natives acknowledged that some women gained employment
with SG-SOC. Some of these rural women earning wage income for the
first time experienced some levels of economic independence, which is
an important pathway to women’s empowerment. Economic
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
pe
rce
nta
ge o
f re
spo
nd
en
ts
100 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
independence is fundamental to strengthening women’s rights and
enabling them to have control over their lives and by so doing exert
influence in society (OECD, 2012). In this context, plantation
employment for women meant they could use their earnings to sustain
families and meet other needs without having to depend on their
husbands. While employment may have provided an opportunity for
women to improve on their lives and the wellbeing of their family, it also
led to misunderstanding and excesses. In Talangaye (Kupe Manenguba)
for example, divorces were recorded among women who got paid
employment for the first time.
Fig. 4. Women employed as unskilled laborers in one of the plantation
farms of agro-companies
8.1.2. Provision of social amenities to affected communities
Agro-companies have provided a number of social amenities in the
communities where they operate, the primary target population being
plantation workers and not the surrounding villages. A good number of
these companies, like CDC, PHP and PAMOL, have created health
clinics that provide basic standard health services to both their workers
and community members. Services provided at most CDC clinics are
free of charge to all workers and their children below 18 upon payment
of a token consultation fee of 300 FCFA (less than 1 USD).
SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS 101
Education is another important domain where agro-companies are
investing in the people. The CDC employs and pays teachers to teach in
government-owned schools in villages around their concessions, where
teachers are lacking. In Penja-Njombe, PHP constructed schools and
assisted in the construction and maintenance of classrooms and
libraries in local public and private schools. The private school (Les
Tisserins) that runs from kindergarten through 12 grades initially meant
for children of its staff now accepts kids from surrounding communities.
The school had an enrolment of 400 pupils in 2012 and operated a free
school bus service within 25km radius. PHP also created the Family
Farm School (FFS) at Njombe in 2008. This school provides vocational
training targeting workers’ children aged 16-19 who have left school
and need to integrate the labor market. It offers part-time training
programs of three years on agricultural jobs, livestock, farming, arts and
crafts. It also provides land for the students to carry out practical work.
At the end they are encouraged by PHP to start their own businesses.
SG-SOC granted university scholarships to over sixteen children from
the Ndian area where it operates palm nurseries. The villagers however
complained that the scheme was discontinued even before the
beneficiaries could complete the first degree, leaving the families of
these students to either carry the burden or the children to drop out of
school. PHP allocated multi-million grants to local councils in 2012 for
the improvement of communal school infrastructures.
Efforts are also made to improve the welfare and working conditions in
the communities. PHP allocated 484 million FCFA in 2012 for the
maintenance and/or refurbishment of drainage works and rural roads
in Njombe-Penja sub-division. Some special attention is given to women
as reported by CDC and PHP managements. Single mothers have a two
days’ additional paid leave for each child below 6. In PHP in particular,
pregnant women are moved away from work stations considered high
risk zones (handling of agrochemical products for instance) to other
more conducive activities. Within the CDC, women in the early stages of
pregnancy are expected to work in their normal stations but are
eventually redeployed as from the seventh to eighth month to do light
102 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
work within the industrial complex or offices without reduction in their
salaries even though they do not put in the same hours at work71.
The fact that CDC and PHP were able to provide social amenities like
schools for the children, free health care for entire families, water,
electricity and housing means the investors facilitate the reproductive
role of women in their camps. A few women in these camps therefore
could easily get involved in other tasks that could be empowering.
8.1.3. Provision of farming land to landless women
While it is true that LSLAs dispossess affected communities of their
land, women and other vulnerable groups have also been able to gain
access to cultivatable land thanks to plantation companies. It was
observed in Mungo Division that PHP periodically allocates temporal
farmland to over 1500 women organized in groups of 30. At the time of
this study, about 2500 plots of land that were not currently in use were
shared to these women for the cultivation of vegetable, groundnuts,
maize, bean, cassava and other staple food crops of the areas. The
same situation obtains within the CDC plantations in Fako, Mungo and
other areas where villagers are cultivating seasonal crops in between
palms or on land banks and within buffer zones. These women
confirmed that they would not have had access to these plots if the land
was owned by individuals.
Although women are not very happy that the companies dictate the
duration of occupation and the types of crops that can be planted, or
charge a token fee (as is the case with CDC)72, there is general
unanimity among the women interviewed that access to the land has
been very beneficial in providing both food and income. The President
and Vice of Société Cooperative des Femmes Dynamiques in Mungo,
beneficiaries of the PHP farm plots for example, expressed their
satisfaction with this initiative by PHP, asserting that “PHP is really
helping us because most of the women working on these lands are
71Interview with the Estate Manager of Pendamboko, 3/11/2015 72 The Assistant CDC Estate Manager in Malende indicated that portions of CDC land are allocated to both the company’s workers and community members to cultivate food crops upon payment of a token fee of 2000FCFA to justify their presence.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS 103
landless widows and orphans …We sell part of what we cultivate to
meet with our needs,...this serves as a great motivation to others who
see us grow to join our group.” One of the merits of plantation shared
farms is that they are very accessible and enable women to evacuate
their produce easily.
In a nutshell, LSLAs have negative effects on women and consequently
on their empowerment. These women have lost land, the only source of
their livelihood and the only means to sustain their families. The burden
of their triple role has been increased because they now spend more
time to get fuel wood, water than before. Water they fetch is unsafe
because of pollution from the plantations. In addition to these, they
have been sidelined in the whole process of LSLAs, especially the part
that deals with compensation. One would have expected that, as the
prime users of land, rural women would play a pivotal role in LSLA
transactions in order to lend them more legitimacy, acceptability and
sustainability. Investors may have taken advantage of the loopholes in
the Cameroonian Constitution, land law, customary and administrative
practices to undermine due processes and aggravate the situation of
rural women. But the same investors are facing an unhealthy and
tendentious business climate that reminds them that LSLAs are far
from being a win-win and something still needs to be done to right the
wrongs of the process as it is.
Like many other studies (Meinzen-Dick, 2009; HLPE, 2011; and
Fonjong & Fokum, 2015) have revealed, terming large-scale plantation
agriculture as development and referring to the local communities as
key beneficiaries is just window dressing which hides the real issues
behind LSLAs. LSLAs, for example, do not really contribute to food
security as most of the products are not for local markets but for export.
Large-scale land acquisition leads to the displacement of indigenous
populations, damages livelihoods, and provides very little employment.
The frequent ploughing and excessive irrigation often associated with
plantation agriculture pollute fresh water systems. In fact, a great
number of deals are done without due respect to entitlements of local
land users through proper consultation, consent or adequate
compensation for the loss of livelihood.
104 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
8.2. Negative Effects of LSLAs on Women’s Livelihood Before the acquisition of land by SG-SOC, CDC, PHP and PAMOL in Kupe
Muanengouba, Ndian, Mungo and Fako Divisions, women in these
areas carried out various activities on the land. In Ndian and Kupe
Manenguba Divisions in particular, both men and women reported that
the collection of NTFPs was the main livelihood activity carried out on
the land acquired for SG-SOC plantations. The harvesting
of local products such as bush mango, eru, ngabi oil, njansa
etc., was a major source of income. In addition to collection and
marketing of NTFPs, women and men cultivated food and
cash crops. Cocoa was commonly grown on the land prior to acquisition
in Mungo, Kupe, and to a lesser extent in Ndian. Fuel wood collection
which constitutes part of women’s reproductive role was colle
forest. Fig. 5 indicates that more respondents are concern
negative effects of LSLAs on livelihood, environment, and compensation
than on other aspects of women’s life.
Fig. 5. Respondents’ views of the negative effects of LSLAs on women in their communities
8.2.1. Loss of livelihood
As earlier observed, land is a basic livelihood asset and the principal
form of natural capital which provides food, income and a range of
natural resources to rural communities. The loss of land to
capitalists/investors presents a major socio-economic constraint
Destruction of livelihood
22%
Loss of income and economic
power 14%
Inadequate compensation
12%
Failed promises10%
Land scarcity 10%
Rural exodus6%
Others 7%
SOC, CDC, PHP and PAMOL in Kupe
Mungo and Fako Divisions, women in these
In Ndian and Kupe
in particular, both men and women reported that
activity carried out on
harvesting and marketing
oil, njansang, cashew,
etc., was a major source of income. In addition to collection and
women and men cultivated food and traditional
grown on the land prior to acquisition
in Ndian. Fuel wood collection
which constitutes part of women’s reproductive role was collected in the
ore respondents are concerned with the
negative effects of LSLAs on livelihood, environment, and compensation
Respondents’ views of the negative effects of LSLAs on women in
As earlier observed, land is a basic livelihood asset and the principal
form of natural capital which provides food, income and a range of
loss of land to
economic constraint to
Destruction of livelihood
22%
Deforestation and
environmental degradation
19%
Loss of income and economic
power 14%
SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS 105
affected communities and women. Almost all those sampled painted a
dark picture of their situation after the loss of their land. The president
of Ndian Women’s Forum observed that “…the women are not happy at
all… our land has been taken…..we no longer have farmland to grow
food to feed our children… Women now travel long distances to
cultivate in areas that do not have roads…Food is scarce today and the
women are very worried …” To the Deputy Mayor of Mundemba, “…the
people of Ndian are very displeased with the fact that they no longer
have enough farmland……. Ndian has been hemmed by parks and
plantations…. the population is growing and children are growing but
there is no land to accommodate them ….” Similar and more negative
effects on income and food security were highlighted in other areas.
In Pendamboko, most natives complained that they could barely have
land to grow any crop as CDC plantations have taken over most lands.
The Chief of Pendamboko affirmed the problem of land scarcity pointing
out that there is no land left to farm, build, and expand or even to bury
their dead. Everywhere is covered with rubber trees and only the
swampy areas are left for the women to cultivate. Generally, the
marginal land left for women did not prove to be sufficient in sustaining
their families and communities, forcing some villagers in Talangaye to
abandon the villages because of landlessness and poverty. Hundreds of
natives in Malende-Fako have also been forced to illegally occupy CDC
land in their quest for farmland. Unfortunately, they are always driven
out by the CDC surveillance Committee fighting against illegal
occupation of CDC land.
8.2.2. Over-dependence on rented land
Many displaced women rent farmland from the company who instructs
them on the types of crops to cultivate. PHP provided groups of local
women with farm plots. Close to 2500 plots (about 60 hectares) of
cultivable land was distributed to 1500 women who are organized in
groups. Women do not have a choice regarding the types of crops they
should grow. In Penja, they were restricted from planting crops such as
maize or banana on the land given to them by PHP to avoid diseases
that may affect the company’s crops. Women were allowed to plant
crops such as vegetables, plantains and cocoyam. Even though these
106 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
parcels of land are given out to women, the company reserves its rights
over them and can take them back whenever need arises.
8.2.3. Drop in economic power
The loss of forest also implies that women can no longer earn income
from the exploitation of NTFPs, leading to loss/reduction of economic
power. Both men and women recognize the fact that women’s incomes
have dropped with the disappearance of virgin forests, major sources of
NTFPs in Kupe Muanenguba. In this locality, for example, many women
who used to harvest kolanuts and other products have abandoned the
activity because they have been restricted from the area of concession.
One of the women affected by this restriction from Nguti says: “…we
have been forced to abandon the collection of NTFPs because of
restrictions into the forest…. the income we used to get from this
activity is gone…” Another woman observed that one of the NTFPs rich
in food nutrients oil, locally called ngabi oil extracted from the forest is
no longer available in the market because virgin forests do not exist
anymore. LSLAs have therefore made women more dependent on
husbands and family for more basic needs than was the case before.
8.2.4. Scarcity of fuel wood
The main source of energy used in rural areas for cooking, heating and
local food transformation comes from fuel wood collected from the
forest without restrictions. Declaring the forest out of bounds to women
when land ownership moves over to agro-investors meant they cannot
also access fuel wood. Like in the case of water collection or food
cultivation, fuel wood has become scarce, requiring more time and
energy to travel over longer distances. The impact of fuel wood
shortages is really felt in Malende where women use a lot of energy in
the transformation of cassava into cassava flour, locally known as garri.
Garri is one of the important staple foods consumed in the country and
its production is an income-generating activity. Scarcity of farmland and
fuel wood in its traditional zones of production in the South West Region
has indirect effects on its quantity, quality and price; and of course, on
poverty alleviation.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS 107
Fig. 6. Women travel long distances across plantations in search of fuel wood in Fabe, Ndian
The sale of fuel wood has become a lucrative business for some men
and youths who go far into the forest or cut down abandoned rubber
trees from the CDC in villages surrounded by CDC rubber plantations.
Where women cannot afford fuel wood, they resort to cutting down
trees planted as windshield against soil erosion around banana
plantations. This was reported in Mungo, where women are sometimes
forced to cut down trees planted by PHP, creating tension between the
company and women in search of survival. With the forest around the
homesteads gone and replaced with plantations, women cultivating
even the land allotted by plantation companies have to spend
additional hours travelling from the farms to fetch wood elsewhere.
Gone are the days when they used to farm and collect fuel wood from
the same piece of land. Many health and other risks go with this new
dispensation and include physical deformation or attacks by wild
animals in the forest. The villagers reported cases in some villages in
Ndian where farmers have been attacked by elephants when villagers
move a bit too far into the forest to fetch fuel wood and other NTFP’s.
108 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
8.2.5. Water crisis and pollution
Water is a central component in all LSLA deals but is often deliberately
ignored in negotiations (Fonjong et al., 2015). The right of investors to
access water in their concession areas is often embedded in their land
deals but not paid for. Most land deals neglect or do not take into
cognizance the water rights of local communities and are often done in
areas where the investors have full potential to access and use water
for irrigation. Investors are unlikely to grab land without being assured
of access to water (Franco et al. 2013). In Kupe Muanenguba, the
natives accused SG-SOC of polluting and reducing the quantity of
potable sources. The water catchment in Nguti was at one moment
destroyed by the company’s caterpillars creating new roads for produce
evacuation; this left the villages without clean water. In Fako, while CDC
plantations are well watered, neighboring communities go for days and
weeks without water (Fonjong et al., 2015). Even within the camps
constructed for the workers by investors, water preference is given to
the crops over the workers. This is the case in Pendamboko where the
CDC camps went without potable water for eight years while nearby
rubber plantations were fully irrigated.
In addition to water deprivation and destruction, LSLAs lead to water
pollution in the process of spraying, runoff, and waste disposal of
industrial waste. In Mungo, communities complained that the use of
toxic material and pesticides in PHP’s plantation produces runoffs that
end up in streams consumed by inhabitants. Furthermore, the
pesticides spray used on the plantation pollutes neighbouring farms,
especially women’s vegetable gardens. Again, used pesticides and
chemical containers are poorly recycled and used by women and
children to fetch or store drinking water. All these are detrimental to the
health of the woman, the family and entire community with women and
children bearing the brunt of the pollution. The result of this water grab
is that women and children walk further afield to collect fresh water for
households. The time and distance spent to fetch water and fuel wood
is not only a burden to the women but is also the time they would have
spent engaging in other productive activities to support their families
and communities.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS 109
Map 4: Competition for land and plantation agriculture in the Mungo
Division
110 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Fig.7. Spring that provided water to inhabitants in a village in Ndian at the verge of disappearance because of intense plantation activities
One observes that most of the consequences of LSLAs result from lack
of a good understanding of the true nature and pattern of land use or
rural lifestyle of affected areas. Table 6 indicates that prior to external
acquisitions; the land was generally either under food crop and cash
crop cultivation or under conservation as seen in Ndian and Kupe
Manenguba Divisions. In the three divisions, women, men and youths
were actively exploiting NTFPs for subsistence and income. Women are
principally those who fetch wood from the forest while the men and
youths are predominantly engaged in hunting73. In Ndian there is
competition for land use between the conservationists of the Korup
Park, the plantations, and peasant farming (Map 5). Farms and crops
are sometimes destroyed by animals, particularly elephants whose
populations have increased, thanks to conservation. The competition
for land in the Mungo has been compounded by the influx of migrants
from other parts of the country, making land still scarcer for peasant
agriculture.
73 interviews with Chief of Fabe, President, Ndian Women Forum and Community
woman from Fabe interviewed on 21/5/15
SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS 111
Table 6: Activities carried out on the land by communities before acquisition by investors
Activities MUNGO NDIAN KUPE Men Women Youths Men Women Youths Men Women Youths Cash crop cultivation
100 33.3 55.5 93.1 47.7 40.9 80.7 34.6 57.6
Collection of medicinal plants
55.5 50 11.1 63.6 59.0 27.2
61.5 15.3 3.8
Collection of NTFPs
16 88.8 27.7 36.3 93.1 47.7 7.6 69.2 7.6
collection of fuel wood
72.2 55.5 33.3 52.2 79.5 61.3 30.7 57.6 26.9
Fetching water
16.6 44.4 61.1 29.5 77.2 72.7 19.2 50 34.6
Fishing 27.7 16.6 22.2 75 61.3 52.2 50 34.6 19.2 Food crop cultivation
50 83.3 38.8 45.4 77.2 36.3 34.6 57.6 10.7
Grazing 55.5 33.3 5.5 52.2 13.6 29.5 42.3 7.6 7.6 Hunting 44.4 16.6 77.2 3.8 80.7 23.0 Tourism 31.8 11.3 22.7 26.9 7.9 15.3
Field work, 2015
8.2.6. Exclusion of women from the process of LSLAs
Women are systematically excluded from the whole process of LSLA
deals even though they are the principal users of the land. As noted
earlier, women are not statutory representatives in LCB, the organ that
recommends the issuance of land certificates. They are also rarely
involved in customary land matters. Their informed consent is hardly
sought during negotiations with would-be investors. Field evidence
confirms the view in existing literature that even when women are
involved in negotiations, that involvement is physical only; their voices
are never heard, much less taken into account. Moreover, LSLA
negotiations are done in secret. A female interviewee from Kuma Bima
(Ndian) explained that the low women representation in negotiations
could also be attributed to the fact that they are not aware of some of
these negotiations. They cannot therefore take part in negotiations they
are unaware of, or to which they are not invited, as noted by another
lady from Toko (Ndian).
The fact is that male dominated community leadership cannot
adequately represent the interests of women. Henig et al. (2001,106),
in defining representation of interests, explains that women’s interests
112 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
cannot be properly represented by men, in much the same way as the
interests of the working class cannot be fully represented by the middle-
class. The assumption is often that women share distinct
characteristics which, if involved in decision-making processes, can be
sympathetic to group interests. The ideal situation would therefore be
that women leaders speak and act in the interest of other women.
However, advocates of substantive representation suggest that
standing for is not the same as acting for (Pitkin, 1972). Many factors
influence women leaders who stand for other women to the extent that
they are unable to act for other women. In many of the field cases
reported, it is traditional and cultural norms, coupled with the status of
women and the shrouded nature of land deals, that greatly influence
action.
Besides the influence of customs and statutes on women’s
representation in the process, the impact of patriarchy cannot be
undermined. Some of the female chiefs (as in Ikoti, Ndian) were quick
to point out that women do not partake in the process because they
have to take instructions from the husbands and chiefs. It is generally
believed among customary communities across Cameroon that land
matters are exclusive male domains. The Fon of Kom, North West
Region is unequivocal about the need to exclude women from land
matters. He argues that women do not have the prerogative by custom
to perform customary rites that confer land ownership rights (Fonjong et
al 2012)74. The result is that most land negotiations exclude women
and by so doing neglect their role in family and community livelihoods.
Where women are invited by chiefs or local administration to
consultation meetings, the reason generally has little to do with hearing
their voices. They are brought in so that they can relay decisions taken
by men to fellow women or to be paid compensation which has been
decided in their absence. In fact, women’s attendance has nothing to
do with seeking their views. One woman who attended such a meeting
noted that “… this meeting was not to get my opinion on the land deal
but to get women’s own share of food and drinks offered by the
company taking over our land…” We see thus that women come into the
74 Fonjong, et al., (2012) Land Tenure Practices. Research report
SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS 113
picture only when they are to get their own share of remuneration, and
most often this is to buy their silence. SG-SOC distributed food and
other related items to women particularly in localities where they faced
potential resistance.
Table 6. Marginalization of women in the process of LSLAs in the studied
localities in the South West Region SN Levels of Consultation Group consulted in each community
Women Men Chiefs Youths
N % N % N % N % 1 Before holding strategic
meetings
2 6 12 37.5 27 84 3 9
2 During public meetings 18 56.2 30 93 29 90.6 17 53.1
3 Choosing the area of land
granted
4 12.5 21 65.6 30 93.7 3 9
4 Choosing quantity of land to be
granted
4 12.5 22 68.7 31 96.8 4 12.5
5 Demarcation of land 3 9 28 87.5 26 81.3 4 12.5
6 Deciding on compensation 1 3 8 25 20 62.5 1 3
7 Deciding on relocation of those
displaced
3 9 14 43.7 23 23.2 2 6
8 Signing of MoU 3 9 20 62.5 26 81 4 12.5
9 Resolution of conflicts 11 34 25 78.1 26 81.3 10 31.2
Field work, 2015
This table is based on information compiled from one of the focus
groups conducted only among women. It reveals that in all the nine
areas that required some level of consultation and involved the women,
the latter were almost unanimous that they were sidelined or left out in
all but one case. Slightly above 50% believe they attended public
meetings called to announce decisions taken without them concerning
their land. Less than 6% knew anything prior to important negotiation
meetings and just one out of 38 women who took part in the discussion
think that women’s opinions were sought about the nature of
compensation they received for the loss suffered.
114 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Table 7: The gender dimensions of compensation on LSLAs in the study areas
Communities Types of compensation gotten by : Whole community Women Others Ndian -Ekondo Nene -Kuma Bima
-PAMAOL gave villagers an outgrower scheme of 30 ha - Provided some food stuff to entire community that lost land. Villagers were given 4 boxes of fish, 2 bags of rice, 4 bags of salt and 5 pack of plastic drinks.
Nothing specific for women. Even the food was controlled by men
Men, elites and chiefs were those in charge.
Mungo -Souza -Njombe-Penja -Njombe Mbomengwandang
- PHP gave monetary compensation to those who owned cocoa and coffee farms by investor. -Compensation given was redistributed to natives in Njombe Penja not at a local level of 40/40/20 -No compensation
-No compensation. They work on these farms for men -No compensation -women could access PHP compensation only as widows
-Chiefs and political elites who spearheaded the move got kickbacks Chiefs receive allowances every after 3 months to quell any social upheavals they may foment - The sum of 65.000FCFA per hectare was given to chiefs each month as royalties for land acquired by PHP investors
Nguti -Ekita
-The sum of 200.000FCFA was given as compensation to the community,
-No compensation
-Only one man’s farm was destroyed with crops in it and he was compensated monetarily.
Fieldwork, 2015
8.2.7. Inadequate compensation for crops and land
The Land Ordinance provides for compensation for crops or
development on national land when such land is taken over by the state
or companies. Compensation is not paid on the land itself except on
private titled land. Women usually receive compensation for crops
destroyed. Unfortunately, the amount of compensation is not negotiated
by the women, and in some cases, as in Njombe in Mungo Division, it is
paid to heads of households who are mostly men. The assumption is
that the compensation will trickle down to the rest of the household.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS 115
This assumption ignores the fact that heads of household do not act in
a unitary manner when allocating food and non-food resources (Udry et
al., 1995). Thus, when compensation is paid to male heads of
household, it neglects the fact that it is the woman who loses access to
her land and rights over her crops. The DO for Njombe remarked
that“…there is no respect for women’s land rights even as
users…women/widows who receive compensation receive as derivate
users and not on their own right…”75
Most women might not benefit directly but some compensation is paid
that ends either with the traditional rulers or their husbands. This
highlights the vulnerability of single women who do not have husbands
to receive compensation on their behalf. Of course, where this
compensation exists, it ends up in the hands of chiefs and traditional
council members as was the case in Mundemba. And since most land
deals are shrouded in secrecy, victims of property destruction lack the
tools for redress even where there is blatant evidence of inadequate
compensation. Generally, since women are not involved in the process
as noted earlier, their voices are not heard and so are not
mainstreamed in the outcome of land deals and compensation.
8.2.8. Failed promises and discrimination in employment
One of the principal arguments of proponents of LSLAs noted so far is
that affected communities and the nation as a whole stand to benefit
when the so-called idle land is taken over for ‘productive’ investment.
The argument advanced is that the plantation and offices will need
human resources. Migrants will stream in and create a market for
locally produced goods and services, and companies will provide
diverse amenities to the natives as part of their corporate social
responsibilities. Promises of direct employment, off-farm jobs, economic
diversification, social amenities (roads, schools, hospitals, water,
electricity, etc.), and scholarships, among many others are always
propagated to accompany LSLAs. But many of these promises are not
true or as the Deputy Mayor of Ndian describes them “…are full of
deceit…”
75 Interview with the DO Njombe, 29/10/14
116 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Although some of the companies, like the CDC, PAMOL and PHP,
provided some of these amenities, women and the local communities
were not the primary targets. Electricity, water, hospitals, schools, etc.
existed in the areas for plantations and plantation workers, and the
local communities were just passive beneficiaries. These communities
could not decide where and when these amenities were to be provided.
For example, the chief of Mbomengwandang (Mungo Division)
expressed his disdain for the social amenities in these words:
“… the PHP factory in my village has had electricity since 1974 whereas the village only got electricity in 2005 and water only in 2012. This was not the result of a planned intervention from PHP but a private arrangement with my village after several demands. PHP provides only what it wants and not what the villages would have wanted and needed. In fact, sometimes they give because they want to forestall protests from the villages”76.
PAMOL also promised to construct a bridge linking Ndian town and a
road from Ndian town to Besingi which has not been realized77.
Table 9.Examples of some failed promises made by investors across studied localities
Villages Promises made Investors Promises realized
NDIAN Ekondo Nene Scholarships, hospitals and bridges SG-SOC None
Kuma Bima Build community halls, provide pipe-born water and hospital for the community
PAMOL None
MOUNGO Souza Build schools construct roads and provide
pipe-born water -PHP
None
Njombe-Penja -Employments, construct schools, provide health care facilities, and good roads.
PHP All realized
Kupe Manenguba -Ekita Farm to market roads SG-SOC None
Talangaye Provide training center for skills development, Create credit schemes Empower the community on large-scale farming, processing, and marketing
SG-SOC Only an account has been created for the village with no funds in it yet.
Source: Fieldwork, 2015
76 Interview with the chief of Mbomengwandang, 31/4/14 77 Interview with the President Women Forum, Ndian
SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS 117
Promises by investors to adhere to basic environmental standards have
been largely ignored. SG-SOC committed itself that its “plantations will
follow the highest environmental and social standards, complying fully
with Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil Principles and Criteria (RSPO)
(Press release, 2011). These standards were never followed, and the
company even withdrew from the RSPO membership in August 2012
following official complaints from NGOs. The location of the plantations
themselves posed a great threat to biodiversity and the environment.
They were within the vicinity of the Korup National park, the Rumpi Hills,
the Bayang Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary, the mountains and the Bakossi Nta
Ali Forest Reserve community forest, all of which are of high
conservation levels. Environmental NGOs have protested and
complained against the adverse effects on the communities’ immediate
ecosystem like mangroves and neighboring communities considering
the fact that many rivers take their rise from the Rumpi Hills. The
removal of trees will trigger a change in the micro-environment and
hydrology that could lead to floods and other disasters.
The law requires all investment companies to submit an Environmental
and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) to the government and obtain a
required Certificate of Environmental Conformity prior to operation. SG-
SOC proceeded to clear down forests for the development of oil palm
nurseries in Ndian and Kupe Manenguba in 2011 before even
submitting the ESIA. Green Peace (2013) opines that the ESIA of SG-
SOC and their analysis of High Conservation Value Forest is inadequate.
The submitted ESIA failed to evaluate adequately the flora and fauna of
the proposed plantation area and the ecological and social impact of
the plantation.
8.2.9. Unrealistic employments and poor working conditions
There is contention about the number of jobs, and who actually benefits
from the jobs supposedly created by agro-companies in the affected
areas. The general consensus is that a few unskilled plantation jobs
(planting, weeding, harvesting, on-and-offloading, and cleaning) may
have been created but the benefits have not been evenly distributed
across sex and regions. Women’s employment were mostly seasonal
and temporal. Women who are natives from Kupe and Ndian, for
118 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
example, complained that most of the jobs went to migrants. A village
notable in Malende presented similar complaints, noting that: “…CDC
has not employed any native in their plantation. All those working on the
plantation are migrants. When jobs are to be provided to the natives it
is mostly unskilled jobs...78” However, these villagers critical of investors
do not possess the necessary skills required by the companies.
Another disgruntled group is that of women who left their farms for
plantation jobs. They expressed dissatisfaction with the pay package,
maintaining that the plantation salary was often not commensurate with
the proceeds that women used to get from their farms. Men also think
in this line, blaming the poor condition of women on plantation
companies. A native from the village of Lipenja recounted the
experience of women in these words;
“…plantation companies have taken our land and have led to a
reduction in our income….women used to work in farms,
produced enough food for the home and to sell,…but now they
work in nurseries with insignificant pay…they work for long
hours in the nurseries and do not have time to work on their
farms…. They have left their farms for nurseries…in return for
hunger, poverty and hopelessness”
The above assertion runs through most of the communities studied.
There is general poverty, hunger, high food prices as food has become
scarce as young rural women have abandoned their farms for unskilled
employment in the plantations. Work in the plantations is time and
energy demanding. The women leave as early as 5:30 am in some
localities in order to catch the vehicle transporting plantation workers
and only return late in the evening. These women have no time for
themselves or side activities (farming, small business, etc.) to
supplement plantation income. Yet, while family income and provision
are falling, cost of living continues to rise, propelled by rising
urbanization and rural unemployment. The women have to keep
working in these plantations since their low education and skills do not
offer them alternative sources of employment.
78 Interview with a native of Lipenja 14/08/14
SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS 119
Workers living away from the plantations are transported to and from
the plantations in unpleasant conditions. The transportation conditions
of these workers as observed around Malende, Kompena, and Ekodo
Titi are deplorable. The trucks are overcrowded, getting into the trucks
at the pick-up points is a struggle between male and female workers
and pathetic for pregnant women. Those who cannot get into the
transport truck (mostly women) have to trek to work. When they arrive
late, they are sometimes marked absent, and as FAWU (2012)
observed, have to trek back home without earning for that day. Workers
are paid terribly low wages on hourly basis that can barely take them
through the month. As a result, plantation workers live in an endless
cycle of borrowing and indebtedness. The SDO for Ndian79 commented
on the salary scale of one of the investors in his Division in these words:
“…the salaries are low with minimum of 40.000 FCFA [$80 at the time]
monthly. Working conditions are very difficult to match this salary scale
even though the amount is above national minimum wage…” But even
the amount stated is exaggerated or the maximum as some workers
who miss days of work earn far lower.
Job security, especially in new localities with the new investors, is not
guaranteed. A majority of workers, as noted in Tanlangaye and Fabe,
have no employment contracts, which leaves them at the mercy of their
employers. They cannot negotiate good salaries, can be easily
terminated without due process, and without ability to seek recourse.
This lack of workers’ protection is seemingly condoned by local
authorities. Susan who believed she was arbitrarily terminated by one of
the plantation companies with nowhere to seek recourse decries the
fact that “… those who were employed had their contracts
suspended….and now much land has been lost with no
employment…The chief has further passed an injunction that he is the
only one to talk to the company or authorities about it and anyone who
goes contrary will be fined…”
79 Interview with SDO, Ndian, 04/04/14
120 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
8.2.10. Insecurity
Art 9(3) of the Convention signed between MINEPAT and SG-SOC in
2009 gives this investor powers to arrest and detain unauthorized
persons seen on the concession site. Many youths have been detained
for stealing banana or palm nuts from PHP and CDC plantations.
The positive effects of LSLA investments in Cameroon shows that, to an
extent, investors adhere to the “Common commitment” with the
government of Cameroon prior to investing in the localities. The
provision of social amenities and employment is part of the obligations
of the investing company and one of the arguments of Cameroonian
authorities to lure the population to give out their land to investors. But
these investors bring only as much as can serve their interests in the
area, or then do more only when they are within their zones of interest.
Roads are constructed to link their plantations to the market or
factories, and not to satisfy the needs of the affected communities. On
the other hand, the negative impact observed portrays the limit of
LSLAs in bringing about positive changes in the life of the rural areas
and also questions the extent to which community and women interests
are mainstreamed into large-scale land deals. It thus opens the way for
the avalanche of resistance witnessed wherever large-scale
investments have taken place.
Chapter 9
Community Response to Large-scale Land Acquisitions
The diverse socio-economic effects of LSLAs discussed in the previous
chapter points to the fact that the gains of LSLAs for affected
communities and women in particular are mixed and debatable.
Generally, the effects show that LSLAs fall short of the expectations of
the population. Rural women seem to suffer the most because of their
peculiar gender roles in society. For example, land grab is accompanied
by water grab with dire consequences on women whose triple role
depends on both land and water. As the process neglects and evades
women and community rights, it raises questions of legitimacy and
accountability. How legitimate are the land deals concluded and who
are the companies accountable to? These questions have pushed
women and affected communities to use tools ranging from
strikes/demonstrations, peaceful protests, legal actions, petition
letters, to activism to demand accountability. These resistances have
borne mixed results, as even legal gains registered by the population
and NGOs have sometimes been short-lived.
9.1.1. Protests, Strikes and Petitions
Strikes, protests and petitions were the most recurrent forms of
resistance registered in the three divisions under study. They originated
from different sources, sometimes from the population, elites, chiefs or
plantation workers. In Talangaye (Kupe Muanenguba) alone, the
population led by a woman staged three strikes within one year against
122 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
SG-SOC to demand royalties for timber exploited, a transparent
compensation process, and for compensation to be commensurate with
the loss suffered. After making these demands known to the local
administration through repeated correspondence without any feedback,
the natives decided to block access to SG-SOC’s farms. This action
forced the local administration led by the SDO, top management of SG-
SOC and the community into negotiation. In the end about 7.8 million
FCFA was paid as compensation for those whose crops were destroyed.
The question of royalties was, however, not resolved.
In the second strike, workers of the same company stayed away from
work because they did not receive their salaries for three months. In the
process, the striking workers mounted road blocks to the main entrance
into the company. The company during negotiations with striking
workers expressed financial difficulties resulting from the suspension of
its activities in Ndian due to community uprising against its investments
in the area. Workers also went on strike against poor working plantation
conditions in Lipenja I, Ndian. The workers addressed their complaint to
the organ of mediation between the villagers and investors (SG-SOC-
PAV). But their complaint produced no fruit because the said chief is an
influential board member who according to the villagers put the interest
of the company above that of the village. Mope (2009) describes this as
a clientelist and political patronage system where chiefs act in their self-
interest and in support of the investors because of financial kickbacks.
In the villages of Babensi I and II (Kupe Manenguba Division), the
population protested to the DO against what they termed ‘illegal’
activities of SG-SOC on their land following attempts by the company to
demarcate land believed to have been granted to them by government
in these villages. The villagers refused to recognize the company,
stating categorically that they have no plans to give land or collaborate
with SG-SOC even in the distant future. Both the chiefs and villagers
denied any prior contacts or negotiation with the company. They
insisted to the DO (during meetings to resolve the crisis) that “…SG-SOC
has not come to us …we have not been contacted …in the Bassosi land
we cannot offer any land without clear negotiations…SG-SOC has
planted temporal pillars on our land without consulting us…our land is
COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO LSLAS 123
small and we cannot sell our birth right by giving it away80…” The
Babenssi people advised the local administration to facilitate the
suspension and peaceful withdrawal of the company from their land
rather than resorting to violence. These people refused to take the law
into their hands but the administration was so far slow to react, which
made the villagers conclude that the administration was backing the company.
To express fury against the absence of consultations and transparency
in the land deals, nearby, women of Nguti organized a protest march to
the chief and later in 2013 mobilized their sacred society to block the
entrance into the nursery of SG-SOC81. The move by the women was,
however, not unanimous as the women were split between those in
support and those against the company. Interviews with some local
government Service Heads and villagers traced this division among the
women to the fact that those who supported the company had earlier
benefitted from food donated by the company during which time those
against had been sidelined.
9.1.2. General Letters of petition and complaints
These petition letters were mostly addressed to the local administration
right to the President of the Republic either by irritated villagers and
chiefs or elites who have been sidelined or outsmarted by their peers in
the process. The content of a few of them reflect the general
atmosphere of discontentment that characterized LSLAs.
In an attempt to get the intervention of the highest authority on SG-
SOC’s oil palm investment in their community, the Bassosi Cultural and
Development Association addressed a memorandum to the President of
the Republic reaffirming their earlier opposition to the SG-SOC
acquisition of their native land. The views in this Memo were also
reiterated by some local Mayors and inhabitants who held that their
land was not for sale. Here, one observes the exercise of collective
strength and social ties against a common front because of the
consciousness of the repercussions these deals will have on their land
and on future generations.
80Interview with the Reagent Chief of Babensi I, 19/12/14 81Interview with sub Divisional Delegate for MINPROFF, Nguti, 18/12/14
124 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
On the 29th of June 2010, the Member of Parliament for Nguti Sub-
Division wrote a letter to the President of the Republic objecting to any
attempt by SG-SOC to irregularly exploit their land to their detriment
(MP, Kupe Manenguba, (2010). On August 26th 2011, the Ngolo,
Batanga and Bima communities in Toko and Mundemba Sub-Divisions
submitted a memorandum to government against what they termed the
“irregular” implantation of large-scale oil palm plantations on their land.
The Memo stated that there was not enough land available for the
companies, and that the company has violated the free, prior and
informed consent of the villagers. They argued that Articles 15 and
17(2) of the Cameroon Land Ordinance No. 74-1/74 indirectly require
local consultation through the Land Consultative Board82 which had
been neglected in the process.
The Bassosi Cultural and Development Association in February 2011
addressed a memorandum to the Director of SG-SOC distancing
themselves from any negotiation and establishment of oil palm
plantation on their land. Another follow-up memorandum was
addressed to the President of the Republic in August that same year,
reiterating their objection to the plantation project on their land (Bassosi
Cultural and Development Association, 2011). In 2012, the people of
each of the villages of Mungo Ndor, Ntale, Ediengoh, Ekenge, Babensi II,
Babensi I in Nguti Sub-Division wrote letters openly rejecting and
denouncing large-scale plantations, stating that “…we do not want to
have anything to do with SG-SOC to acquire part of our forest or
farmland for their plantation project…” Similar action where protest
letters were written to high state officials including the President have
been recorded in Sierra Leone over land grabbing according to Justice
Foncier (2014).
In an appeal for administrative assistance, the Mundemba Council in
Ndian wrote to the Senior Divisional Officer for Ndian against the
falsehood and pretentious attitudes of some elites in the community
towards SG-SOC’s project. One of such Memos was handed publicly by
82The Land Consultative Board which attest the to the rightful occupation of land in
Cameroon has three representative from the local community- the chief and two notables)
COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO LSLAS 125
the spokesperson of the elites to the SDO in a meeting of November
11th 2009 which was attended by the chiefs, elites, and service heads.
The protest letter raised questions relating to the environmental and
biodiversity sustainability of the investments in a locality with many
active conservation projects. Unfortunately it took just two weeks for
this same spokesperson, this time acting as a representative of the
company, to convene another meeting hailing the project as a
development opportunity. This manifestation of egoistic approach to a
common problem prompted one of the local councils (Mundemba
Council) to issue a protest letter indicating that such elites were not
acting on behalf of the community and neither do they have any legal or
justified paramount status to speak on behalf and in the absence of the
native population who ought to be consulted on such issues. Similar
petitions came from the people of Nguti and Ngolo chiefs of Ndian. The
Ngolo Chiefs’ Conference described the activities of one of the investors
on their customary land as illegal. They further warned against any land
deal with elites, chiefs and any investors as risky, insisting these
individuals were corrupt chiefs and elites who do not represent the
masses but their personal egoistic interests.
In a similar vein, the youths and notables of Fabe and Bima villages of
Ndian wrote a letter of protest to the DO of Mundemba against
relinquishing land to SG-SOC. In this protest letter, the youths named
elites of their communities and expressed frustration at how their
Chiefs and some illiterate elders had been brainwashed by some elites
and investors into believing that SG-SOC investment would enrich and
empower them. They cited instances of intimidation, threats and fake
meetings organized by these elites to canvass support for their
unwanted project that only fulfilled selfish interests. Some of the
intimidating pronouncements were: “…whether you like it or not the
government would give out Fabe land to Sithe Global…” And because
these elites are usually political heavy weights and also pass off as the
so-called ‘intellectuals’ of these communities, they mount pressure on
chiefs who are naïve to cooperate and give in to these illicit deals.
These are the elites and naïve chiefs that investors are quick to present
as speaking for the affected villages, and whose self-seeking consent is
brandished as community consent.
126 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
9.1.3. Meetings and Declarations against LSLAs
These meetings were organized all over the new plantation areas to
drum up support against LSLAs. The chiefs of Ndian Division and Nguti
Sub-Division held a joint meeting on June 25th 2010 and issued a
common declaration denouncing earlier agreements with SG-SOC. They
withdrew any earlier support pledged to the company because the
chiefs had been sidelined and neglected by the company which was
negotiating with the government (Ndian and Nguti Chiefs Conference,
2010). The Ngolo Chiefs Conference held a separate meeting at Ndiba
village on the 15th of December 2010 and August 2011 to condemn the
illegal mapping and planting of pillars in some villages of Mundemba
and Toko sub Divisions by SG-SOC without the prior consent and
approval of most Chiefs (Ngolo Chiefs Conference, 2010, NCUBA and
BICUB, (2011). The chiefs of Nguti attempted to hold a similar meeting
on November 19, 2012 but it was banned by the local administration,
even though the same administration had earlier authorized the
meeting (Nguti Chiefs Conference 2012). Women did not participate in
these high-level meetings because they are not chiefs or heads of
villages, but field interviews reveal that they were sympathizers and
supporters of the outcomes.
Other resistance came from local and international environmental
NGOs. In a joint letter to the Minister in charge of the environment, the
NGOs expressed discontent and concerns on the illegal procedures
adopted by one of the investors and the likely negative impact on land,
culture, livelihood and biodiversity in affected areas. These NGOs cited
the villages of Talangaye (in Kupe Muanenguba), Fabe and Lipenja
(Ndian) where forest has been cleared for oil palm nursery plantations
without any prior ESIA. Other issues raised by these NGOs touched on
the effect of pesticides and fertilizers on natural rivers and streams, the
only source of potable water for the people.
Furthermore, the communities of Babensi II, Ediengoh, Ekenge and
Ntale in 2012 wrote a letter of open rejection of SG-SOC’s projects.
COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO LSLAS 127
Table 10: Summary of resistance against LSLAs in Ndian and Kupe Manenguba Divisions
Methods Actors Outcomes
Meetings Chiefs of Ndian and Nguti Sub Division
Joint Declaration denouncing earlier agreement with SG-SOC of June 25th 2010
-withdrew their support to the company since they were neglected
Ngolo Chiefs A motion against SG-SOC of December 15th 2010
-condemn the illegal mapping and planting of pillars in Mundemba and Toko sub-division by SG-SOC without the prior consent and approval of most chiefs
Protest/Appeal Letters
People of Nguti Sub Division to the Presidency of Cameroon
Mungo Ndor, Ntale, Ediengoh, Ekenge, Babensi II, Babensi I
Objection by the people of Nguti Sub-Division to an attempt by Sithe Global Sustainable Oils Cameroon to irregularly exploit the Sub Divisional Land, June 29th 2010 Open Letter to SG SOC/Herakles Farms company LTD by the people, 2012
- unanimously annulled the Memorandum of Understanding signed with SG-SOC - withdrew their consent for the project Open rejection and denouncement of large scale plantation
Deputy Mayor Mundemba Council to the Prefet of Ndian
An Appeal for administrative intervention, February 15th 2010
Request for the administration to protect the people against elites using community land in quest for their personal interests
Mayor of Mundemba to the Regional Governor
Comments on the letter captioned: Kuma, Mokango, Masaka Bima and Lipenja II village- Enclaves, June, 2010
-denounced the activities of elites who want to use land on the false pretense for personal aggrandizement
128 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Youths/Notables of Fabe and Bima villages
Protest against ceding of land to SG-SOC Ltd of January 23rd 2011 and April 11th 2011
- resolved to preserve and manage the small land left after ceding land to parks. - declared that the rumors that they have accepted SG-SOC are all false.
Memoranda Ngolo, Batanga and Bima communities of Toko and Mundemba Sub-Division
Irregular implantation of a large scale oil palm plantation of August 26th 2011
not enough land available for SG-SOC - the company had violated the free prior and informed consent of the villagers as stated in Cameroon’s1974 land ordinance - activities of SG-SOC prohibited chiefs not acting on behalf of the people
Bassosi Cultural and Development Association
Land acquisition by SG-SOC in Nguti sub-Division of February 2011
-the project is not sustainable and beneficial to the Bassosi man given the environmental, economic, social and future implications
Strikes, demonstrations and legal complaints
Babensi II against SG-SOC, April 2014
-demanded that the company should leave because they occupied their land without their consent -demanded compensation for damages caused during their illegal occupation
People of Fabe & Nguti villages, 201-2013
-blocked access into the company’s oil nursery
SEFE “No plantation on our land” 2012
-Wear T-shirts carrying this slogan on the occasion of the installation of the new Senior Divisional Officer to make visible their opposition to the plantation.
Legal Suit SEFE against SG-SOC Stop the activities of S-GSOC by CR No. 90202969 of 2011
-Court ruled in favor of SEFE to suspend the activities of the company in the area
COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO LSLAS 129
9.1.4. Effect of community resistance
While most of the elites are self- seeking, some have worked with the
communities to make them aware of their rights and empowered them
to be better negotiators. This has been tested in Nguti- sub Division
where the chiefs of the locality held meetings and gave Nature
Cameroon the mandate to appraise the SG-SOC project for the benefit
of the community. Nature Cameroon went on further to build the
capacities of the stakeholders of these communities; that is why many
of the villages here (like Babensi 11, Ebanga, Nguti, Sikam, Ngolo) are
resisting surrendering their land and want to renegotiate with SG-SOC.
In addition, they have two practicing lawyers who are working with the
communities. Because of the singular effort of this civil society
organization, a lady at Ekita succeeded to get adequate compensation
for her land that was destroyed and taken over by SG-SOC. Women are
being educated by Oakland Institute on Land rights. Since the
communities are today human and land rights aware, they have held
their local politicians, MPs and mayors accountable to them. Some of
the MPs, elites and mayors of the Ndian and Nguti areas have now
through several communications to the management of SG-SOC and the
government withdrawn their support for the land deals and instead
opted to serve their people.
Table 11: Reasons for failures of women’s resistance against LSLAs
SN Reasons advanced Number %
1 Delay by authorities to address the problem 10 33.3 2 Suspicion among elites because of self interest 9 30 3 Lack of education, sensitization and illiteracy 3 10 4 Lack of means, and power 2 6.6 5 Patriarchy and women subordination 2 6.6 6 Poor coordination 2 6.6 Total 30 100
Field work, 2015
The result is that as communities become aware of their rights, and as
they get more empowered, they are able to protest against unfair deals.
Some other villages have withdrawn earlier support given to the LSLA
leading to the near stagnation of the activities of SG-SOC in the two
Divisions.
130 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
9.2. The role of NGOs Local and international NGOs have played diverse roles in helping
marginalized women and local communities to fight for their land rights
through education and resistance. The activities of NGOs are part of a
general community outcry against LSLAs and can be appreciated
through the examination of their actions, and raison d’être. NGOs tend
to base their arguments against LSLAs on three fronts: 1).
environmental/ecosystem protection, 2). the need for accountability to
the local community, and 3). the protection of human rights and
livelihood of affected communities. We have used the example of three
different local NGOs based in each of the three divisions (Nature
Cameroon in Kupe Muanenguba, Struggle to Economise Future
Environment (SEFE) in Ndian, and Comité de Gestion Environnementale
et Sociale (COGES) in Mungo to illustrate their role and that of a few
international NGOs.
9.2.1. LSLAs and the question of environmental and biodiversity protection
The use of Press Releases
SEFE and Nature Cameroon have argued against the method used to
acquire land and the fact that the activities of plantation companies are
both detrimental to women and the environment. The two NGOs
maintain that plantation agriculture, if not checked, will lead to the
disappearance of indigenous forests, dry up streams, bring an end to
traditional fishing, endanger biodiversity, extinct NTFPs and traditional
sources of medicine, and exacerbate climate change and effects. They
also complained against the unwanted effects of monoculture which
are typical of plantation agriculture. In a protest addressed to the
President of Cameroon contained in one of its several Press Releases,
SEFE reminded the President how approval of large expanses of land in
Ndian and Kupe is synonymous to accepting massive deforestation
which is a major shift in the President’s own policies from
environmental protection to the destruction of nature. The Release
recalled to the President some government policies and how the
change of the name of the Ministry of Environment and Nature
Protection to Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and
Sustainable Development, was seen as a giant policy step towards
COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO LSLAS 131
environmental sustainability. LSLAs go contrary to nature protection and
sustainable development.
In fact, promoting LSLAs in a very sensitive area like Ndian with parks
(Korup national Park) and reserves (Rumpi) is anti-environment and
makes environmental issues mere window dressing in Cameroon (Map
4). SEFE also highlighted the fact that the plantation projects are within
a water catchment area that drains into neighboring communities’ right
up to Nigeria, and therefore the removal of trees could trigger a micro-
environment and hydrology change which may lead to disasters like
flood. This and other examples that demonstrated environmental
impact of plantation activities make them unsustainable.
Like SEFE and Nature Cameroon, COGES is pushing for environmental
sustainability in the Njombe area of Mungo where PHP operate its
banana plantations. COGES observed that the presence of PHP
promotes water, land and air pollution through chemical spraying, poor
disposal of waste containers and plastics containing chemical remains.
These plastic containers are dangerous for human health, particularly
when poorly recycled and used. Women use containers previously
containing chemicals at home to store drinking water and the blue
plastic bags protecting bananas in the field after chemical spray from
pest to sell food items. These plastic bags, it has been confirmed, are
made from petroleum which is very dangerous to human health. COGES
is sensitizing the population and at the same time putting pressure on
PHP for better environmental safety measures. In so doing, PHP
management carries out regular laboratory analysis of water around its
plantation areas to ensure it is safe for the communities, and ensures
that plantations are at least 50 metres away from human habitation to
avoid the effect of pollution during air spray.
132 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Map 5: Existing land use showing protected forest reserves prior to the
approval of new LSLAs
COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO LSLAS 133
9.2.2. Demanding accountability and due process
NGOs have come out forcefully to question how the process of granting
land to investors is carried out, the extent to which it is transparent, and
how it involves local communities and women. SEFE, for example
through meetings, press releases and protests, raised legal issues with
the 2009 Convention between MINEPAT and SG-SOC granting the latter
73086 hectares of land in Ndian and Kupe Muanenguba divisions. In a
Press Release of December, 2013, SEFE explained how the Convention
contravenes international instruments and Cameroon’s land law which
requires that a lease concession of this size be approved by a
presidential decree. Pressure from SEFE and the local populations drew
government attention to some of the irregularities of the process.
Even when the 2009 Convention was later corrected and replaced by
the 2013 Presidential Decree, SEFE was still able to identify a number
of lapses with the land granted and called for the Decree to be revoked.
For example, SEFE reported that the amount of land signed out by
chiefs and notables during the LCB meetings was different from that
contained in the Presidential Decree. It also noted the following
discrepancies: in Sikam the decree granted 3410 hectares of land while
the technical document shows 3110 hectares. In Manyemen-Ebanga,
the decree gives out 2941 while the technical document shows 2720
hectares amongst others. SEFE also highlights flaws with the various
boundaries and villages named in the Decree and technical documents,
indicating for example that land belonging to Beleme was designated as
Beboka. These errors exist because the right consultation did not take
place.
From a right angle, SEFE believes the process used to grant concession
in the areas denied the inhabitants their inalienable rights to free, prior
and informed consent and ignored an analysis of the impact of this
project on the inhabitants. It reinforces the fact that the MoUs signed in
2010 by the investors and some of the chiefs were done without
community representation. Demonstrating with clear evidence, we
observed in the field that most of the chiefs live out of their villages and
do not consult the population prior to meetings with investors,
particularly since these meetings are not held in the villages. In addition
134 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
to the notion of absentee chiefs, SEFE, like our study, has raised
questions about the technical ability of these chiefs to negotiate land
matters with international business partners without assistance from
elites and NGOs. The general impression even from the administration
is that these chiefs and elites who are the main signatories are corrupt
individuals who sacrifice the community for personal financial and
material gains.
NGOs have also helped to protect local communities against unfair land
deals and marginalization. SEFE, for example, led a campaign in 2012
at the demand of the community of Mundemba to produce hundreds of
T-shirts reading “No plantations on our land”. The T-shirts were to be
worn by villagers during an official installation ceremony for a new top
administration officer (SDO) for the division to make visible and public
their opposition to the plantation company. The plan was however
foiled by the forces of law and order (Grain, 2010).
Another key activity of NGOs is building the capacity of affected
communities through education and workshops to demand for
accountability from government, chiefs and plantation companies.
These workshops which include many women participants focus on
community rights to land, land laws and how to hold the companies
accountable. Alongside workshops, there are sensitization meetings
organized to prepare the population, especially whenever SEFE is aware
of suspicious activities or of pending actions by investors, chiefs or
government that might culminate in land grabbing. SEFE organized one
of such meetings on August 4th, 2011 with over 400 people in
attendance. The meeting was provoked when some chiefs and investors
signed MoUs granting the former land without the consent of the
population in Ndian. In 2013, Nature Cameroon undertook a
sensitization and capacity building tour of 13 villages affected by LSLAs
to educate these on how to demand for their rights in LSLA deals. As
farm lands become scarce in plantation-dominated areas, COGES
organizes women into groups of co-operatives to demand land from
PHP in the Mungo Division.
Some of the results from the sensitization and capacity building so far
have been fascinating. Villages like Ebanga, Babensi II, and Siyam are
COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO LSLAS 135
either asking for renegotiation or for complete cancellation of the land
deals. Some women have agitated and have seen their farmland
destroyed by plantation projects re-evaluated and paid better
compensation as noted in Ekita village. Local chiefs are now able to
demand for better and clearer terms from investors before signing any
MOU. The NGOs though disliked by the administration and plantation
companies, are nevertheless invited to take part in meetings and for
dialogue, which was hitherto not the case.
SEFE is absent even when invited to most events organized by
government and investors in connection with what local company and
administrative officials refer to as land negotiation meetings. SEFE and
Nature Cameroon see the boycott of these propaganda meetings as a
form of protest against illegality. Officials of these NGOs reported of
several attempts by authorities from both the companies and the local
administration at holding direct talks aimed at bribing, cajoling them to
silence without success.
9.2.3. Legal suits
Although local administrations may seem hostile, NGOs have left no
stone unturned by carrying their campaign for justice even to the court
system. In 2011, SEFE filed a complaint83 in Ndian High Court84 where
they obtained a prohibitory injunction stopping SG-SOC from carrying
out further activities on their palm nursery plantation85 until due
process and promises were fulfilled. In the usual arrogance the
company violated this prohibition and the agents responsible were
arrested. However, this decision from the courts was short-lived as the
Judge handling the case was moved from the area, an act believed to
be an administrative sanction for ruling against the company.
83 See Law suits No. HCKM/7/2011 and HCKM/18m/2011 84 Struggle to Economise Future Environment (SEFE) v. SG-SOC, Herakles Farms and
Dr Timti Isidore. 85 On31 August2011,theHighCourtofNdianJudicialDivisionissued an injunction against
SG-SOC in lawsuitNo.HCN/003OS/2011/1m/2011 (unreported) ordering suspension of operations on the oil palm nursery
136 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
SEFE filed another lawsuit against the government in SEFE v. Minister
of Environment (2012), in which the NGO complained to the Supreme
Court against the Minister of Environment, Nature Protection and
Sustainable Development for issuing a certificate of ESCIA to a
company which did not meet the norms86. The case was admissible in
the Supreme Court and the Minister was asked to address the claims of
SEFE. Lawsuits are also among the avenues used by citizens to demand
accountability. Disputes are brought before national courts and some of
these have resulted in the suspension of projects or in marginal
improvements for local populations where the court ruled in favor of the
investors. Taking cases to court however may go with certain risks,
especially in areas where limited freedom is available. Such risks also
sometimes involve judicial officials who may be victims of political
censorship. Having the support of high profile actors is also an
empowering factor to engage with formal channels to seek legal
redress.
9.2.4. Reprisal on NGOs
NGOs have faced aggression, intimidation and threats from agents of
plantation companies and local authorities. In August 2012, for
example, the Director of SEFE was physically assaulted on his way to an
awareness-raising meeting in one of the villages by people associated
with one of the investors in the area. Although the victim filed a
complaint on assault against the presumed culprits on October 29th,
2012, no charges have so far been brought against them or the
company. Representatives of two NGOs, Nature Cameroon, the Centre
for Environment and Development (CED), and Greenpeace were
physically assaulted by employees of this same plantation company
while visiting one of the affected villages (Babensi II) at the request of
the chief of the village in August 2013.
During preparations for a peaceful demonstration against land grabbing
in the area in November 2012, the Director of SEFE and other members
of SEFE were arrested at the organization’s headquarters and held
86 The procedure for ESCIA is spelled out in Law no.96/12 of 5th August 1996 on the
environmental impact assessment and its decree of application No.2005/0577/PM of 23rd February 2005
COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO LSLAS 137
without charges. They were released following international criticism,
including an appeal from the World Organization against Torture and
the International Federation for Human Rights. Again, the local Lord
Sheriff-Bailiff is alleged to have summoned the same Director of SEFE
on December 31, 2013, at the request of an investor in the area, for
“publication of false news via the internet”87. The Director of SEFE and
four colleagues88are also facing law suits other charges for organizing
“an undeclared public meeting” and distributing to the local population
t-shirts with anti-slogans about one of the plantation companies
operating in the area.
Nature Cameroon has been banned from educating local communities
on the threats of large-scale plantation projects to their livelihood and
environment. On September 11, 2014 the Divisional Officer of Nguti
sub-Division summarily suspended its right of “holding or organizing any
public meeting or manifestation” on the assumption of the NGO had
held an authorized meeting, even though the decision suspending the
NGO could not cite the date or venue of the said meeting (WRM, 2014).
Nature Cameroon was banned in 2013 by the SDO on the
recommendation of the DO for Nguti, accusing the organization of
instigating illegal activities and violence89.
The role of NGOs in protecting both community and environmental
sustainability in LSLAs in Cameroon is huge although these
organizations are working under difficult conditions. They are looked
upon by local administrators as opportunists and ‘enemies’ of
development initiatives which are rare in the area. From the
environmental perspective, local administrations believe there is
enough land in the area compared to the people that should be
developed, and that, in any case, government has the final word, not
the villagers. One of the SDOs noted that “…these are empty lands, free
lands which belong to the State and for this reason the State should
87 Law suit No.CFIM/063c/2013: The People v. Nasako Bessingi and Others 88 Law suit No.CFIM/61c/2013: The People v. Nasako Bessingi and Others. 89 The DO for Nguti believes that although NGOs have their role to play, activism is not
encouraged because plantation companies bring development projects that address social needs.
138 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
use it as it pleases…. The villagers are not owners of these lands but
they want to be the ones to sell them instead of the State….The locals
cannot be asking for development (roads, schools and security) and at
the same time are against development initiatives… they must be
prepared to sacrifice in order to benefit from development…. SG-SOC
therefore presents an opportunity for development which they must
seize…” There are even other arguments invoked on consultation; one
of such is that once consulted during elections, the ruling government
does not have to consult the people again before carrying out
development actions. Many communities and NGOs do not buy this
argument. All the resistance witnessed in plantation areas is evidence
of dissatisfaction with the land deals and their effects on the
population.
Table 12: Female respondents’ evaluation of the terms of transactions in
LSLAs
Response Number %
Satisfied 10 27.7
Not satisfied 16 44.5
Not interested 2 5.6
Not seen document 8 22.2
Total 36 100
Source: Field work, 2014.
As indicated in Table 12 out of the 71% of women who have heard
about the land deal, 44.5% were dissatisfied with these deals in Kupe
Muanenguba. However, 27.7% thought the deals were okay, but many
of these came from villages that had just lost their land and had not
begun to feel the impact of the situation.
This is a positive step towards demanding accountability, but
unfortunately not enough as elites, investors and government are still
able to exert their power and influence to quash the efforts of these
communities and NGOs through intimidation, threats, sanctions,
lobbying, corruption and coercions.
Chapter 10
Emerging Issues from LSLAs for Policy
An investigation into the practice of LSLAs and how it affects the
wellbeing of women and affected communities in its present form raises
a number of key policy issues. These issues are important in
understanding the winners and losers of LSLAs and the extent to which
it is a win-win venture.
10.1. Women, LSLAs and compensation Compensation is a key element of LSLAs framed within the context of
distributive justice since the LSLAs produce many victims. These victims
seeking for compensation should remind those who hold that LSLAs
take place on vacant land to reconsider their options. There are
different categories of victims of LSLAs that include affected
communities who lose the commons, and rural women, principal users
of the land. The general opinion on compensation from the study is that
compensation is a contentious issue and communities/women are not
happy with the way it is handled by both government and plantation
companies. Although there are laws governing compensation during
LSLAs, victims believe that what is received as the actual compensation
is not proportionate to the value of land lost or to the promises made to
communities. More often than not, compensation made falls short of
expectations.
140 LSLA: IMPLICATION FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
While we did not focus on compensation, the study raised several
pertinent questions that require careful analysis and examination, such
as:
1. Who should be compensated, the State, community, heads of
households, or those on the land?
2. What form should the compensation take and how is it to be
calculated?
3. How should compensation be paid? (that is the timing, the
impact, etc.)
4. How sustainable is the compensation scheme?
5. Is the compensation promised actually paid?
6. Where can compensation victims seek redress? and
7. How is community compensation different from corporate social
responsibility of companies?
10.2. LSLAs and women empowerment The basic tenets of empowerment as articulated in the Longwe
empowerment framework revolve around conscientization, participation
and control. Conscientization implies that women are aware of their
problems, rights, and other issues resulting from LSLAs. Participation
emphasizes women’s ability to take part in decisions relating to their
lives and livelihood as in the process of granting land, where and the
quantity of land. It also includes fair treatment and benefit from the
gains of the process through employment and income. Control is the
ultimate goal of women’s empowerment because where women control
factors of production, in this case land and their labor, they can take
part in decisions relating to land deals and discussions on their wage
rates and other working conditions. A critical analysis of the situation of
women in all the three localities and companies studied indicates that
LSLAs fall far short of empowering rural women.
Women could not easily participate in the process because of
patriarchy, lack of land ownership, and sometimes lack of awareness of
the importance of participation. Whatever the reasons, leaving out
women from land negotiation disempowers them. Displacing rural
women from their farmland and forest which serve as principal sources
of their livelihood keeps them from effectively carrying out their triple
EMERGING ISSUES FROM LSLAS 141
roles without depending on their husbands and men. The argument that
plantation agriculture provided jobs for women and therefore empowers
them is contentious. Although plantation companies provided some
jobs to women, these were mostly unskilled, menial jobs or low level
clerical services at entry levels, while men got skilled and managerial
positions. Thus, men head and control the women both at home and at
their work places. We could however not verify if the women even had
control over the income they earned.
The jobs themselves were not secured as the women had no contracts
and could lose these jobs at any time. Women’s inaccessibility to well-
paid, secured jobs is blamed partly on low levels of education and
illiteracy. This is no excuse because the literacy level of rural women is
known in advance by the companies which failed to provide women with
some skills-enhancement opportunities needed to get better jobs. In the
end, women got the least paid jobs with earnings too small to get them
out of the vicious cycle of poverty and dependency.
To get out of the yoke of poverty imposed on women by patriarchy and
capitalism, rural women need collective empowerment as a path to
individual empowerment. Collective empowerment depends on strong
women organizations or movements, which for now are unfortunately
lacking in this part of Cameroon. Women’s organizations focus on
advocating for their land rights, land registration and resisting land
grabbing. It could also be in the form of cooperatives that can solicit for
funds, agricultural implements (seeds, agriculture technology, etc.) and
finance large-scale mechanized agricultural projects, from production to
marketing of finished products that serve women’s interests. By this,
individual women can effectively gain secured tenure over many
hectares of national land, thus positioning themselves for competition
with large-scale investors.
10.3. Representation and accountability Patriarchy is a key factor limiting women’s participation in the LSLA
deals as most Cameroonian societies do not believe women should
have any say in land matters. This belief transcends customary settings
into statutory land institutions such as the Land Consultative Board
142 LSLA: IMPLICATION FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
where women were not represented. Customary jurisprudence regards
women as minors with no voice on land issues and LSLAs actually
enforce this notion instead of attacking and changing it. Rural women
are principal victims who lose their land and livelihood to large-scale
land deals, yet do not have the voice to articulate their concerns and
issues during land negotiations on affairs that directly impact on their
everyday lives. Occasionally, women are brought into meetings on
LSLAs but those brought in are not chosen by their peers and so are
unable to represent kind. These women are generally above 60, are not
educated, not well informed, and play a passive or no role. Both the
generational and the literacy creteria are often intended and designed
to mystify women and make it difficult for them to understand the
technical issues discussed.
10.4. Women’s general attitude towards their neglect in the process of
LSLAs Women of the area are generally acquiescent to their marginalization
and neglect in the process of LSLAs. They rarely take the lead to
demand for their rights and even when youths try to react, some women
are reluctant to jump into the struggle. The result is that although they
bear the brunt of LSLAs, there are no women movements or advocacy
groups against massive land loss in all the three divisions studied. The
general reason why women have stayed quiet is because of the belief
system, fear, poverty, and lack of education and information. One
woman in Ndian noted that “… we are occupied with feeding our homes
than fighting the government or government-supported companies...”
Going by this assertion, women are occupied with feeding their homes
because they live within a prevailing context of deprivation and abject
poverty. To them time spent in complaining is time lost in the war
against poverty. Asking for their rights and fair share of compensation is
fighting government and agro-companies considered as giant
institutions and organizations. These women are forced to think so
because traditional beliefs have for long kept them out of land matters.
Others cannot demand accountability because they are largely unaware
that their prior consent has to be sought. They have been
EMERGING ISSUES FROM LSLAS 143
disempowered by lack of information on the different avenues for
redress when their land rights are violated.
10.5. Women, LSLAs and environmental protection Large-scale land acquisitions have generated a number of
environmental issues that question the extent to which the environment
has to be traded off for agrarian transformation. Local NGOs and
women in the localities studied complained of deforestation,
destruction of biodiversity and watershed, water and air pollution,
monoculture, among other problems introduced into their communities
by activities of plantation companies. In addition to all these,
community harmony with nature has been distorted and women in their
quest for survival no longer care about the sustainability of their
activities.
In more concrete terms, the environment in Ndian and Kupe
Muanenguba Divisions is under intense pressure as plantations and
forest reserves, watershed and other protected areas compete for the
same space. In Mungo, the pressure and competition for land is
between plantations, populations and urbanization. Here, plantation
farms extend right into private habitations and vice-versa. The social
cost of the manifestation of environmental problems is borne by the
communities in addition to losing their land with little or no
compensation. The statement here is not that plantation agriculture
should not exist but that it should be practiced sustainably. This is
where the question of conducting true environmental and socio-
economic impact assessment prior to large-scale agro investments is
important. But these assessments are either not carried out or when
carried out the results are deliberately neglected because they do not
favor investors and their investments. In the light of the above
statements, how can anybody explain the fact that homes of villagers in
Mbomegwandang are found inside the plantation of one of the
companies? How can one explain that three different companies have
been granted land in highly protected areas with national parks and
reserves in Ndian and Kupe Muanenguba Divisions, known
internationally as biodiversity hotspots for rare endemic and threatened
species of animals? The answer lies in the fact that LSLAs, like many
144 LSLA: IMPLICATION FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
profit-driven capitalist initiatives, violate national and international
environmental laws and principles, which calls in question the popular
slogan of LSLAs as win-win ventures.
10.6. The effects of the loss of the common The traditional mode of life within many communities in sub-Saharan
Africa is characterized by the ownership and exploitation by local
communities of common assets like forests, water and their associated
resources. Private ownership goes contrary to this type of community
life. This is a fundamental reason for the reluctance of rural
communities to acquire land titles over customary land considered a
common property and identity of a people that cannot be owned. Land
is part of the common property which every individual can exploit
without limit to his/her own advantage. Women’s land rights in rural
areas may be better protected under common rather than private
tenure systems. Although Hardin (1968) sees the common as a
resource from which each individual tries to pull as much benefit as
possible, there is some degree of consciousness and regulation to avoid
the consequences of over-exploitation. LSLAs contravene the commons
as private interest undermines society's best interests. Companies
acquire communal lands not for general but for their profit-making
interests. Under such conditions, the commons is depleted and
eventually ruined (Ponce, 2000). We should nonetheless note that the
commons works well only under conditions of low-population density
and not the reverse.
10.7. Women LSLA and food security Generally, plantation agriculture is export-oriented. Even produce such
as bananas and palm oil that have local demand are rarely sold in local
markets, except in super markets and in big cities, far away and out of
the reach of the poor and rural dwellers. The result is that there is less
access to both land and food for the rural poor. According to the
Divisional Delegate for Women Empowerment, Mungo, it is difficult to
talk of food self-sufficiency when women still do not enjoy secured land
tenure and have lost their farmland and are forced by LSLA to travel
EMERGING ISSUES FROM LSLAS 145
long distances to grow food90. They work on marginal or rented land and
sometimes for unspecific periods. Within this context, women are not
able to cultivate food crops like plantain, banana, palms which are
highly demanded and profitable. There is pressure on available
farmland and risk of attack from wild animals as they venture further
into the forest. Even when the harvest is bountiful, these women are
unable to get the food stuff to the markets because of lack of roads.
A combination of factors such as land scarcity, pressure on the land,
poor farm to market roads, and production by agro-companies
principally for export has led to hikes in prices for food in local markets.
High food prices mentioned by respondents have unfortunately not
been accompanied by rising incomes but instead by declining incomes
in Ndian and Nguti, as inhabitants can no longer harvest and market
NTFPs. Certain NTFPs such as ngabi oil rich in food nutrients and widely
consumed in Ndian is no longer in the market. Plantation agriculture
has displaced women and other community members from this
traditional income generating activity and other sources of income from
the forest. One woman remarked that NTFPs alone brought women
more income than the wages they earn from PAMOL Company. In
villages such as Fabe and Talangaye where one of the plantation
companies temporarily suspended its operations, women, especially
those who had abandoned their farmlands for plantation jobs suddenly
became redundant, without a source of income or food for the family.
The result is that villages that have enjoyed abundant food soon found
themselves in a precarious food situation. The situation got worse as
the few farmers in general and female farmers in particular who are
responsible for household subsistence could not provide for the food
needs of the village and their households under the existing conditions.
The President of Women’s Forum, Ndian added that during this time,
government assistance (of high yielding, pest and disease resistant
seeds) to farmers was also not forthcoming, a situation that significantly
contributed to low food production and price hikes.
90Interview with the Divisional Delegate for Agriculture, Mungo. (19/11/14),
146 LSLA: IMPLICATION FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
10.8. Gender mainstreaming in LSLAs The provision of employment and social amenities as well as temporal
farm lands to women by some of the agro-companies in Cameroon
means that they can use these facilities and their remuneration to
improve on their living standards without necessarily depending on their
husbands. The extent to which investors can assist and include women
depend not only on their goodwill but on the socio-cultural, legal and
political environment which can either be a liability or an asset. While
very few cultural norms about women’s rights to land were seen to be
evolving, the economic context of rural areas is rapidly changing. This
dichotomy creates a mismatch between women’s customary status and
a capitalist economy leading to the unfair treatment of women. For
instance, women’s access to better plantation jobs depends on their
level of education. Although mindsets are changing and both boys and
girls have almost equal access to education, much is yet to be done to
close the gender gap in education in many rural areas as women still
lag behind men. This could mean leaving the white collar opportunities
to migrants and men. Compensation is often paid only to men,
sidelining women because men are seen in the eyes of most customs
as heads of households even though women’s crops have been
destroyed. This was observed in this study in Mungo Division where
women could receive the quarterly compensation allowances paid by
PHP to natives only when they became widows.
In the short term, a gender-inclusive culture of LSLAs requires that
national laws, policies and practices governing the process be revised
to mainstream women through a participatory approach that includes
their voices, interests and concerns in the process. A long-term solution
requires profound reforms in the educational sector that will lead to a
change of mindset towards women and women’s land rights. Formal
and non-formal education and literacy programs led by government
institutions and NGOs should target all segments of the society
including chiefs and chauvinistic male civil servants who resist change
and perpetuate social injustices against women.
This positive change can occur when government and companies
acquiring land put in place policies that create a range of activities
EMERGING ISSUES FROM LSLAS 147
intended to reduce vulnerability and build resilience among women and
other vulnerable community members. In fact, evidence from the study
so far shows that a gender-inclusive agro-investment, if well designed
and executed, will provide opportunities for both men and women. This
could be achieved through the introduction of employment, income
generating activities, and new technologies and services and assist in
redistributing local resources in more equitable ways. When this
happens, investors will also benefit from social stability, security,
cohesion and high labor productivity from both men and women which
will result in a considerable increase in their output, revenue and
profits.
Chapter 11
The Way Forward
11.1. Conclusion Cameroon, like other sub-Saharan African countries, has witnessed a
significant increase in large-scale agricultural investments. These
investments come from both within and without, requiring thousands of
hectares of land. Believers of LSLAs argue that these investments,
particularly those coming from without, will serve as a catalyst of
development as it brings in foreign capital that will put ‘unused land’
into production and modernize local agriculture, leading to high
productivity and growth. Beyond the expected gains in the agricultural
sector, LSLAs will transform local infrastructure, create off-farm
employments, and raise national revenue through taxes. Although these
anticipated gains will benefit government and affected communities,
women are also seen as those likely to benefit both directly and
indirectly from job creation, social amenities and food security. This
study examines the process of LSLA as implemented in some localities
and reveals a variegated picture of the situation of women and affected
communities.
The acquisition of large-scale land for agro-investment in the global
South is not a development initiative meant to benefit poor nations and
their local population whose land is taken away by agro-companies.
Rather, it is a capitalist profit-motivated venture that has taken
advantage of the weak legal frameworks and poor socio-economic
conditions in affected countries to enter land deals skewed to favor
WAY FORWARD 149
these agro-companies. Under these circumstances, the process is rarely
fair and inclusive, and is often a long way from the win-win situation it
purports to be. In Cameroon, while the state might have supported and
facilitated the process of land acquisitions, particularly by foreign
companies through its local officials and forces of law, there are no
financial or substantial gains to show for in the localities studied. Like
the government, the situation of communities who gave out their lands
is even worse. They have lost the rights to the commons, generally for
little or no compensation. The exclusion of the affected population and
women in the process of LSLA has dealt a serious blow on women’s
rights to land, a major factor of production, thereby denying them rights
to development. They have lost not only access to farmland but also
sources of income and livelihood.
The so-called gains in the form of off-farm employment or social
amenities, if any, have not been able to make up for the loss, forcing
popular resistance from communities across the country wherever land
has been taken without due process of participation, prior consultations
and consent. Although women’s participation will not automatically
change their fortune, their voices are nonetheless critical in the
negotiations and in the choice of compensation alternative and
livelihood strategy to land proposed to them. The non-respect of
women’s land rights and environmental justice by LSLA promote
international and local protests and resistance from affected
populations and NGOs. All the stakeholders, especially the government
and the investors, must ensure that all the rules of the investment are
adhered to if LSLAs that have come to stay are to be win-win ventures.
All in all, the absence of women’s representation in the process of
LSLAs is explained by the unfair power structure that promotes the rule
of men or patriarchy. Rural women are therefore unable to act and
benefit from the process like men because they have been limited by
the social roles defined for them by society as constructed sometimes
by customs based on their biological differences. Although the majority
of women may face oppression and marginalization as the study has
demonstrated, Nussbaum (2000) argues that this does not apply to all
women because there is nothing like homogenous cultures or victims in
150 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
developing countries. Women, economic, political or urban elites do not
face the same challenges on the land as faced by the rural poor women.
What may be universal is the fact that women are fighting for their
rights everywhere although the form of oppression they are fighting
against may be different. Women’s struggle for land rights however
constrains their equal power relations at local (men and chiefs) and
international (international capitalists) levels.
11.2. Recommendations
1. Ratification of land deals by national parliament.
Given the scale and implication of land acquired particularly by foreign
and multinational companies, all large-scale land deals should pass
through parliament. This will provide for indirect consultation and
scrutiny by parliament and allow female MPs and women parliamentary
caucuses to make their inputs. In addition to obtaining parliamentary
approval, the process will promote transparency as these deals will be
published and followup by parliamentary commissions of inquiry in
cases of problems during implementation.
2. Ensuring women and community participation in land deals and
accountability
Women and community participation in land matters at all levels should
be made statutory and mandatory to enable land deals to enjoy both
legality and legitimacy. Laws should provide for the direct inclusion of
women as statutory members in institutions (LCB, SBC, traditional
council, etc.) managing land in Cameroon and only endorse land deals
that show proof of effective consultation and community consent. In
addition, the state should put in place gender-sensitive handbooks that
define the actors, steps, and institutions involved in LSLAs and a
checklist for accountability, quick reference and transparency.
3. Adequate compensation for land lost to LSLAs
Communities and women who depend solely on the land should be
adequately compensated and enjoy regular benefit for as long as the
plantation is on their land. The land deal negotiated should
accommodate such long-term compensation schemes.
WAY FORWARD 151
4. Downsizing the quantity of land and land use planning
The quantity of land requested and approved should be regulated,
taking into consideration issues related to food security and
environmental protection. This means prioritizing smallholder schemes
and productivity over extensive agriculture. A land use planning and
zonation policy in rural areas that sets aside farmland for women before
selling land to plantation companies is vital. This practice will promote
women’s economic emancipation, empowerment and food security.
5. Building capacities of rural actors in LSLAs
This will require the intervention of NGOs and the state to build the
capacities of chiefs, elites and women to be good negotiators of large-
scale land deals. The same capacity building in advocacy for effective
women agency against exclusion and marginalization in land matters is
important for women organizations in rural areas.
The state should ban MoUs between chiefs and investors as these
MoUs have no legal standing and only serve the selfish interests of the
signatories.
6. Engendering the process, implementation and benefits of LSLAs
Large-scale land deals should contain clauses that require agro-
companies to provide rural women with prior job-related training that
will enable women to compete and gain at least 30% of all jobs
emanating from LSLAs. Similar clauses should hold investors
accountable and ensure that promises to affected communities are
feasible and time-bound. Companies should present to government
(MINPAT in this particular case) regular reports on the realization of
these promises.
7. Promoting the ventilation of information and sensitization
Information and official documents (e.g. decrees) on any land deal
should be made accessible to affected communities and the public
through the traditional and modern media sources. This information
should be regularly updated on government websites and social media
pages of ministries concerned.
152 LSLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
A good data base is needed to control land grabbed by elites and
companies. Government should digitize and update national land
records. The current absence of a national digital data base for land in
Cameroon makes it difficult for authorities concerned to ascertain who
owns what land and in what quantity and where. Companies and elites
take advantage of these loopholes to grab as much land as they want
and at the expense of the poor without being seen to be infringing the
law.
Sensitization on the importance of women’s land rights is needed to
challenge stereotypes, customs, traditions or beliefs and generational
mindsets that prevent women from enjoying equal land rights as men.
Allowing people to share experience and the use of role models of
successful women entrepreneurs could be very effective.
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APPENDIXES
INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
Check List (for the Interrogator only)
1. Name of Government Ministry
2 Name of Government Department
3 Name of Locality
4 Position or Rank of official
5 Contact if available
6 Consent form signed
7 Date of interview
8 Interviewed by
General comments if any
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INFORMED CONSENT OF RESPONDENTS
This research is carried out by the IDRC-UB Large Scale Land Acquisition Project. The
project is sponsored by the Canadian based International Development and Research
Centre (IDRC) and is carried out in three countries: Ghana, Uganda and Cameroon.
The main objective of the research is to examine the conditions under which women can
be empowered to effectively participate in the processes of LSLA and the ensure that
the legal and policy frameworks foster better accountability and legitimacy in land
governance in sub-Sahara Africa.
There is no risk associated with completing this form. Your consent is sought simply
because we want to be sure that you provided us the information willingly and freely.
You do not need to answer any question if you don’t want to without any consequences.
All information that you provide is confidential, will be used strictly for academic
purpose and in an aggregate form. Nothing that you write or say will be attributed to you
except you specify so. This form and the interview will be handled separately.
Your participation will advance our research and will serve as a contribution for the
advancement of women and Land Reforms that will foster the development of
Cameroon. If you have questions concerning your rights as a participant, please contact
me using the address below.
Thank you for your assistance
Lotsmart Fonjong
__________________________
Principal Investigator Respondent’s Name and Sign
Tel: 677 513 620
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IDRC-UB Large Scale Land Acquisition in Sub Saharan Africa Project
Large Scale Land Acquisitions and Implications for Women’s Land rights in sub-
Saharan Africa
RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS NUMBER 1: FOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
Situation of LSLA
1. Why is the government interested in LSLA?
2. What drives the large scale land deals now and not say 15years ago (for
secondary data)?
3. Who are those acquiring large scale land in this area?: Elites, Foreign Investors,
local businessmen, Public officials, etc
4. What informs the government choice of investors?
5. What kind of land is made available for LSLAs? Private land, Public land,
Community land, unused land?
Accountability: Institutions, legal and policy framework, representation, sanction,
interaction, transparency, information flow, internal and external monitory and
evaluation, rights, capacity
1. What formal/informal roles does your institution play in the process of land acquisition in this area? (Probe roles in various stages such as initial contact, negotiation, legalising the agreement and implementation/use etc?
2. What structures guide large scale land acquisition and what representation do women have in these structures? Do women play a leading role in these structures; why or why not?
3. What are roles of different actors (government, media, NGO’s) in supporting the community?
4. What has been communities’ response in general and women’s response in particular? (What have they considered effective and why and what have they considered not effective and why?)
5. What is/are the main method(s) of land acquisition: Lease, Multiple contracts Purchase, Others (specify)
a. Does the administration seek the consent of the local population before
deciding on specific lands to be acquired? b. If no what avenues exist to involve local communities or make them
aware of the deals?
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6. Which administrative /government officials are involved in the process of LSLAs? Authority Yes No Reason(s)
Divisional Delegates (Specify)
Divisional Officer Governor Minister Municipal authority Senior Divisional Officer Traditional authority
7. Who are the rights holders? Are the rights holders consulted and do they give
informed consent in such deals?
8. What are the types of consultation involved?
9. Who were the various actors that government involved in the process of LSLA (probe:
role of women; which women were involved?-queen mothers, female landowners,
market women, businesswomen, others?)
10. How were they involved (at what stage were they involved; what issues did they raise;
and were their (women) issues taken into account?
11. Did the government educate the rights holder to be strong active players in such deals?
12. Was there an agreement/contract document and if so, was this easily accessible to the
public? if yes why and if no why not?
13. How can the home government, MP, etc. be effectively accountable to the masses and
rights holders particularly
14. What mechanisms have been put in place to monitor the implementation of the terms
of the convention (specify convention)
15. What have been the community responses to these agreements? Who has led them?
And with what outcomes?
16. What have been women responses?
17. Should government institutions be involved in situations of private land transactions?
(Give reasons)
Governance: Laws, management, institutions and structure, inclusion, fair
compensation, land, livelihood and displacement, rules
18. What are the constitutional provisions/laws stipulating your roles in this process? 19. What legal mechanisms/constitutional provisions detail who you should be working
with? 20. To what extent are you able to carry out your duties as stipulated by law? 21. What laws do you use in addressing issues of large scale land transactions? 22. How adequate is the existing legal and policy framework in regulating LSLA in this
area? what is the level of women’s involvement, are they consulted, what issues did women raise, what mechanisms were in place to protect their interests, is it necessary to have these mechanisms ( representation, compensation, involvement)
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23. What kinds of compensation plans were prepared at government level for local communities and for whom?
24. What were the specific considerations for women? 25. How have the duality of laws facilitated the land concessions? 26. What factors did you consider in determining the compensation?
27. What safeguards have your community put in place to ensure scrupulous adherence to
the terms of the convention?
28. What has the government/administration done to ensure that land deals address the
impact on women and livelihood?
29. Are there aspects in the agreement that breach user rights?
30. What mechanisms are put in place to address breaches of the convention?
31. Were people displaced because of the land deals? Were they compensated?
32. What kind of benefits was the community entitled to? Did they received their
benefits?
33. The percentage of the profit
(a) Development projects Project Level of realization
Not started Started Realized
Legitimacy: Representation, Collaboration, mutual acceptance, perception, agreement,
partnership
34. To what extent do you think these land agreements were fair and just?
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INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR LOCAL WOMEN/LOCAL COMMUNITIES (PROBING: WOMEN)
1. Who owns the land over which the concessions are made
2. What are some of impacts related to land transactions that you have experienced as a community? SN Positive impacts Negative impacts 1 2 3 4 5 6
3. Has any community or group been displaced from their land or sources of
livelihood so far due to LSLAs?
4. Is there any form of organizing by women to demand accountability for the land transactions?
5. Please, tell us more about these organizations if any SN Organization Some activities and achievements 1 2 3 4 5
6. Do you think the ownership of land certificate or non- ownership of such has any
bearings on the land transactions?
7. What activity were you carrying out on the land before the land deal?
8. (a) Are there any promises made by the company concerning infrastructural
development?
(c) If Yes in what domain(s) (d) Have these promises been realized? (e) If No, how do you intend to hold the company responsible/accountable?
9. Identify the socio-economic activities in the region (also identify the actors) in the
table (generate a land used map)
Activity Actors Men Women Youths Others (specify)
Cash crop cultivation Collection of medicinal plants Collection of Non timber forest products (NTFPs)
Exploitation of fuel wood Fetching of water Fishing Foodcrop cultivation Grazing Hunting Tourism
10. (a) Do you think your rights to livelihood have been deprived by the land deal?
(b) If Yes, in what way? 11. (a) Who represents the community in the negotiations for land deals?
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Men; Men& women; Chiefs/notables; Local NGOs; others (specify) (b)Are their technical skills taken into consideration? (c) If Not Why? (c) If men or women; are their levels of education taken into consideration? (d) What was the basis for selecting these men and women who represented your community in these negations? (Use the table below for question 11)
Characteristics of representatives
Men Women Chief/ notables
NGOs Others
1.Level of education 2.position in the community
3.Special technical skills 4.Other considerations
12. (a) Do you think the activities of the companies here might have affected the
activities of women? (b) If Yes how? Loss of farmland; loss of or reduction in
income; Abandonment of activity; Out-migration;
Other effect (specify) 13. (a) Are there any formal groupings/structures within the community that can take
up action to fight in favour of the women? (b) If Yes Name them (c) How do they
carry on with their ‘fight’?
14. (a) Is there a common fund from which resources (financial) can be drawn to
undertake expenses on behalf of the community?
(b) How workable is it (in terms of contribution, regularity, etc.)? Very workable Workable Partially workable Not very workable (c) Is the fund contributed by both men and women?
15. Are there any formal structures or network to protect the land/resources from
excessive exploitation?
16. Is this community aware of any non-transparent transactions in the land deals?
17. (a) Is there a common fund from which resources (financial) can be drawn to
undertake expenses on behalf of the community?
(b) How workable is it (in terms of contribution, regularity, etc.)? Very workable ; Workable; Partially workable; Not very workable (c) Is the fund contributed by both men and women?
18. Are there any formal structures or network to protect the land/resources from
excessive exploitation?
19. Has any member of your community seen the convention signed between the
government and the companies? (Probe for women, men, chief, local politicians,
NGOs, etc)
Are the terms what the community actually consented to? 20. Are women part of the land administration structures like traditional councils and
negotiation committees? Has this always been the same or has it changed over
time? How and why?
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21. Do locals who are employed have employment contract specifying remunerations,
duration of employment, conditions and terms of work, etc?
22. Are there any institutions like NGOs to which you adhere in times of need (for
financial support, building up capacity, liaising with partners/authorities, etc.?
23. Briefly explain where the community seek recourse in case of rights violation
24. Are there any institutions like NGOs to which you adhere in times of need (for
financial support, building up capacity, liaising with partners/authorities, etc.?
25. Were you (probe men and women) satisfied with the terms of the transaction negotiated on your behalf as a community? Why/why not?
26. What strategies have you used to fight for your interests? 27. What attempts have you made to bring your concerns (dissatisfaction presumes
negative answer) (both in terms of actors involved, terms of transactions, access etc) to the attention of the authorities (formal or informal authorities)?
28. How successful/unsuccessful have you been? 29. What, in your opinion, accounts for your success or lack thereof? 30. Have you as a community registered any resistance with regards to large scale
land transactions by women especially? 31. Is there any form of organizing by women to demand accountability in the land
transactions? If so, what kind? 32. What do you think can be done to ensure that women are included in the processes
of Large scale land transactions in this community? (probe in regards to laws, policies and practices)
33. How would you describe this land: Very useful; Useful; Marginal; Idle
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INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR TRADITIONAL LEADERS/ CHIEFS
1. How much land does the community have? (unit of measurement=hectares or acres?)
2. Based on the total land available in this community, what quantity do you think your community conveniently given out to investors?
3. How much land has been leased in this community? How land is generally allocated to the community members?
4. To whom have these lands been leased? (Presupposes one lease, foreigners or indigenes?)
5. For how many years has the land been leased? 6. What role did you play in these LSLA deals 7. Did you fully understand the conditions of grants 8. Why did you accept the Land deals 9. What informs your choice of investors?
10. Have you seen the convention or the terms of the convention 11. What procedures did you follow coming to an agreement over these
LSLA? 12. Who were the various actors? (Probe role of women which women?
Leaders? Queen mothers,) and what role did they play? 13. What factors determined who was/was not involved? 14. How was your community compensated for the deal? (Probe women)?
Who was compensated? Are you satisfied? 15. Describe briefly the type of development promises made to your
community and which ones have been delivered? 16. What was the basis of these promises? (probe to find out if they were
requested by the communities, if there are community needs or were simply decided upon by the investors
17. Did the investors carry out any socio-economic impact assessment prior to the negotiation for land acquisition? (probe to find out how they are aware of this) If No, why?
18. List the main results of this assessment where they were carried out Sn Focus areas of assessments Results
Agriculture
Food security
Displacement
Environment
Water
Sacred sites
Land shortages
19. (a) What are some of the provisions that exist if any, for displaced women
to regain their lost lands to foster sustainable agriculture?
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(b) If no, why?
20. (a) Are there local people represented in the Management Board of the companies involved in the land deals? (b) If yes, how many and who are they? (Probe to know if they are local
elites, chiefs, women, politicians, etc) (c) What percentage of this number is made up of women? (d) Why?
21. Describe the kind of jobs given to your community members Types of job
Women Men
Age Class previous Age Class previous
22. What concrete framework if any have you put in place to ensure the following: (a) Job sustainability
(c) Environmental sustainability 23. How can you and fellow chiefs use your power and authority to object to
such deals if you think it will not be beneficial to your community? 23. List some cases where these power have been used against deals that are
not beneficial to your community if any 24. What safeguards have your community put in place to ensure scrupulous
adherence to the terms of the convention. 25. What mechanisms exist for citizens to raise their grievances?
Mechanisms that
exist
Affected
women
Men affected Community
26. What mechanisms have you put in place to protect the rights of the community, and the women in particular and how effective have they been?
27. Do you have a copy of the agreement? 28. Are you able to renegotiate the land deals? Under what circumstances?
how? Why? Why not? 29. If you have the opportunity what would you change? 30. If rights of community are violated do you know the mechanism and
procedure for redress? 31. For what purpose have these lands been leased? How has the usage
changed over time, i.e. the purpose? 32. What factors did you consider in determining how much to value your
lands? 33. Who initiated the land transaction (probe exact characteristics of
comprador elite)?
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34. What procedures did you follow in coming to an agreement over the terms of the lease? (probe terms of agreement)
35. Who were the various actors involved in the land transfer process (probe migrants, indigenes, the elderly, the youth, males, females, specific religious groupings, specific families, any others)?
36. Has there been any conflict in the community over the land transfer? 37. Who are the aggrieved and hat are some of these grievances? 38. What is the basis of their grievances? 39. What actions, if any, have been taken to redress these grievances?
Use the table below as check list for question 36-39
List of grievances Those involved Actions to address them
Effectives
men women
40. How would you describe this land: Very useful; Useful; Marginal; Idle
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INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR INVESTORS
1. Name of company:
2. International Headquarters; Local headquarters; Other countries in which
you operate
3. Major sectors of operation: Agricultural; Mining; Forestry/timber; Others
(specify)
4. Main activities; Major outputs
5. Start date in country?
6. What drives the land deals now and not say 15years ago?
7. What were your motivations for soliciting land in this country for large-
scale agriculture?
8. Where in this country do you operate or intend to operate? Region(s);
Division(s); Sub-division(s)
9. What area of land does your company occupy in this country?
Localities_________________________ Area (hectares)_______________________
10. How would you describe this land: Very useful; Useful; Marginal; Idle
11. Have there been changes in the original plan in terms of land use? Why?
What were these changes?
12. What formal and informal rules/channels if any, did you use in the process of land acquisition? 1 Formal rules and channels informal rules and channels s 2 3 4 5
13. What role(s) did the following groups/personalities play in the process of
the acquisition?
Group/Personality Role in land acquisition Chiefs Divisional Officer Elites Governor Local council Local MPs Local NGOs Men Civil administrator Women Youths Others
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14. Who participated in the signing of the agreement (probe: women)?
15. Name the ministries and government departments involved in the land
acquisition process in the following table; Ministry Government department(s) How were they involved
16. Did you obtain the informed consent of all the stakeholders of the
communities prior to negotiation with the government?
(b) If yes, how
(c) If No, how do you intend to do with those whose consent you could not get?
17. Did you ensure full disclosure of your activities to the population?
18. Were people displaced because of the land deals? Were they
compensated?
19. What are some of the reactions of women and members of community
this community that were displaced?
20. How did the community, women in particular initially react to your
proposal?
21. If reaction changed over time what length of time did it take the
community to change its reaction? Why? How long did it take?
22. What kind of benefits was the community entitled to? (b) The percentage of the profit (c) Development projects
Project Level of realization
Not started Started Realized
23. Are there local people represented in your Management Board?
(b) If yes, how many?
(c) What percentage of this number is made up of women? (d) Why?
25. Are there any avenues for mutual accountability between your company
and the communities where you operate? If yes explain
26. What concrete framework if any have you put in place to ensure the
following:
(a) Job sustainability (c) Environmental sustainability
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27. Did you carry out any socio-economic impact assessment (EIA) prior to
your negotiation for land acquisition in the areas where you operate?
(b) If No, why?
28. What provisions were made for displaced women to secure alternative
lands?
29. What proportion of your work force is comprised of the following local
people?
Type of work force Number Reason
Skilled Women
Unskilled women
Skilled men
Unskilled men
30. In what ways do you think your investment in this community can lead to
a win-win situation?
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Interview guide for civil society actors
1. Name of the organization 2. When it was established 3. Geographical coverage 4. What kinds of activities are you engaged in in relation to LSLA in the
country? 5. For how long have you been working in these various communities? 6. In what specific communities have you worked? 7. How did you decide on the choice-of the communities (probe initiators of
this idea) 8. What kinds of land laws do you work with in your advocacy efforts? 9. Which state actors (probe MMDAs) do you work with in your advocacy
efforts and how? 10. Which other organizations do you work with? 11. Which women organizations do you work with? 12. What prompted your interest in LSLA matters (probe both local and
international factors)? 13. How do you support the affected communities to demand for
accountability? 14. To what extent have you been successful in your work (probe M & E
indicators) beyond numbers (public interest litigation, education, mobilization, and advocacy?
15. What measures are you using to define your success (probe issues of particularly horizontal accountability and the various groupings to which accountability was sought)?
16. What has been the impact of your work on women? 17. What in your opinion accounts for your success or lack thereof? 18. what have been the challenges while working on LSLAs issues 19. In your opinion, how did the investment impact on women’s land rights? 20. What has been the response of the state, communities (women in
particular) and investors to your activities? 21. Do you feel legitimate to represent these communities? Why and why
not? (include table of indicators of legitimacy) 22. How have you ensured that the community support this cause? 23. What sustainability plan have you put in place 24. To whom is your organization accountable to? (probe women, investor,
government, community) 25. What are the mechanisms put in place to ensure this accountability? (paste
indicators of accountability) 26. what challenges have you encountered in this advocacy work 27. Give reasons on how accountability will be enhanced in LSLA process
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Citizen Action Groups
1. Name of the group 2. When did it start its activities? 3. Objectives of the group 4. Composition of the group and characteristics of the members: probe for
number of male and female, social characteristics (age, ethnicity, migrants, elites, political leaders)
5. Number of communities represented 6. Who is the leader of the group? 7. What motivated the members to start this group?- probe for issues the group
intended to tackle or is still handling? 8. What are the community mobilisation strategies and in particular women to
fight against injustices and trying to demand for accountability 9. Methods/strategies of making the investors and the existing structures
handling LSLA matters from the local to the national level to make them accountable and respond to the demands of the affected populations (e.g. registering grievances with the local authorities, demonstrations and public protests, petitions to parliament, public meetings, legal action, media and other information mechanisms etc
10. What has been the role of women in this struggle to demand for accountability?
11. Which actors have been in support of your cause (media, politicians, activist NGOs (local and international), legal fraternity). For each actor mentioned probe for the role and nature of support and what they have achieved dissemination?
12. State response and designated local government structures for handling such conflicts arising from investments
13. From experience, tell us what has been the outcome of these engagements and reasons
14. What has not worked and why 15. How can we make LSLA more responsive to the needs of the affected
populations and in particular women
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